Pad Thai

Pad Thai is always a safe bet at any Thai restaurant. Each restaurant has its own version of curry dishes, and if you are like me (picky that is) then you are not easily satisfied when the dish does not meet to the standards of your fave Thai place. With Pad Thai, it is very hard to go wrong. This recipe hits the right spot when you are sick of take out but still want to eat Thai. This recipe is inspired from here .



I tweaked the recipe a bit to use the ingredients that I had in my fridge (cabbage, eggs and spring onions). You could add more veggies if you like (shredded carrots, purple cabbage, bean sprouts can be used). I used rice vermicelli noodles instead of the thick flat noodles that is commonly used.

Assemble

• 8 oz. Pad Thai rice noodles
  
• 2 eggs or tofu
  
• 8 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup of cabbage, thinly chopped
• 1/2 cup red or white onions thinly sliced
  
• 2 green onions, sliced
• 1/3 cup fresh coriander/cilantro
• 1/4 cup ground peanuts
  
• 3-4 Tbsp. oil for stir-frying

For the sauce:

• 3/4 Tbsp. tamarind paste
• 1/4 cup hot water
• 3 Tbsp. soy sauce
  
• 1/2 to 2 tsp. chili sauce (to taste) or chilly flakes
  
• 3 Tbsp. brown sugar

Method

• Bring a pot of water to boil and remove from heat. Soak noodles in hot water for 7 -10 mins. Drain and rinse with cold water. Noodles are ready when they become soft with a bite.
  
• Dissolve the tamarind sauce in warm water. Mix the rest of the ingredients for the sauce. Set aside.
  
• In the mean time, place a wok over medium heat. In 1 -2 tbsp oil, scramble the eggs and set aside.
• Set the wok on heat again. In 2 tbsp oil, fry garlic for a minute. This will be the right time to add the chilli flakes if you are using them instead of chilli sauce.
• Add the onions and stir fry till they turn translucent.
• Add the cabbage and stir fry for a minute. Add the more veggies if you are using any.
• Add 1/2 of the sauce and the noodles. Mix everything together while on the stove.
• Add more of the sauce according to taste.
• Turn off the heat. Add the green onions and ground peanuts.
• Garnish with cilantro.
  
• Serve with a lime wedge.

I was really impressed with the flavors of this simple recipe. Also found that using more peanuts holds the noodles together and gives it a great taste.

Khaw Hai Jarern Aharn! (Bon Appetit! in Thai)

Cheese and Bean Enchiladas

Enchiladas need no introduction. Its the perfect choice perfect for those weeknights where I can let my oven do most of the work while I relax with a book. Chicago has a lot of good authentic Mexican restaurants but I prefer Tex-Mex with its cheesy-spicy flavours. My recipe is inspired from here with various modifications. Enchiladas can be stuffed with a few different things - black beans, pinto beans, refried beans, veggies like capsicum, onions, green and red peppers etc and also with different meats. I always keep a can of beans and a packet of shredded cheese handy to satisfy those Mexican cravings. I prefer to use store bought enchilada sauce and they work as well as anything prepared from scratch.

Assemble

1 - 2 cups of beans (I prefer refried or pinto)
A packet of tortillas - corn, flour or wheat
6 ounces shredded cheese (cheddar or assorted Mexican)
Enchilada sauce (spicier the better)
2 tbsp oil
Salsa to serve
Cilantro to garnish


Spices (optional)
2 tsp cumin powder
2 tsp coriander powder
Red Chili Powder
Taco/ Fajita seasoning

Method

For the black bean stuffing, heat 1 tbsp of oil in wide skillet. Season with the spices. Then add the canned beans with a little water so its not too thick. Allow the beans to simmer for 1o minutes till the flavor of the spices have settled in. Sometimes at this point I also add some salsa to give it a extra zing. Mash the beans around a little so it forms a runny paste.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray oil on a baking dish.

To assemble the enchiladas, bring out bean mixture, enchilada sauce, cheese and tortillas. Heat a non stick pan on the stove. Soften a tortilla on the pan 10 seconds on each side with a little brushing of oil. Spread a spoonful of bean sauce in the center of the tortilla, with 2 tsp enchilada sauce and a sprinkling of grated cheese. Fold long ends of tortilla and place on the baking dish with seam side down. Repeat with other tortillas.

Once all the tortillas have been assembled, sprinkle some more enchilada sauce on the top (more if you want it spicy) and sprinkle the rest of the cheese till it covers the top of all the tortillas. Uncovered pockets cause the tortillas to dry and become hard.

Cover with a foil and bake in the oven for 30 - 40 minutes until the cheese is bubbling. Remove the foil in the last 10 minutes to you know when the cheese starts to bubble.

Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with salsa.

Variations : You could saute onions, green peppers etc along with beans to give it bit of a crunch.

A simple South Indian meal

Its been a while, hasn't it? Maybe it was the post Diwali sugar high or the unbearable cold which makes coming into the cold kitchen to cook a meal very difficult. And to click pictures on top of that?!!! But finally on this chilly sub zero winter weekend, with nowhere to go, I gathered the energy to cook and blog. Looking back, I realized I have not really blogged about any of food that we eat regularly. Its been almost a year since I started this blog, so to commensurate this occasion I am going to blog about something simple and close to my heart - a Tamil Nadu lunch.

A daily South Indian or I should be more specific and say Tamil meal would be rice, sambhar (or kuzhambu), rasam with one or two vegetables (one of them being mostly spinach in my house). It is a wholesome meal with the right amount of carbs, protiens and vegetables and very les fat as there is not much oil involved. So today's recipe is about moru kuzhambu and kovakkai kari.( I will keep the rasam for nother cold day!) Kuzhambu is like sambhar but without the lentils. Moru means buttermilk (diluted yogurt). Kovakki is also known as tindora (in Hindi) or Ivy gourd. Kari refers to dry vegetable (without gravy) sauteed in a little oil with some spices. This meal can be prepared in less than 30 minutes.



Kovakkai Kari

Assemble

Kovakkai - 2 cups, sliced length wise (I used frozen precut kovakkai)
Oil - 1 tbsp
To season - mustard seeds (kadugu), curry leaves
Salt and chilli powder as needed

Method

Heat oil in a round frying pan. Once the oil is hot, season with the mustard seeds. Wait till they sputter before adding the curry leaves. Add the cut kovakkai and cook for 10 -12 minutes sauteing regularly. Once the kovakkai becomes a little soft, add the salt and chilli powder. Saute till the kovakkai turns a little brown. If you want it more crispy fry for a longer time with a little more oil.

Moru Kuzhambu


Assemble

Buttermilk - 2 cups (I usually whisk yogurt with a little water as this less sour and more thicker than store bought buttermilk; if you want a more richer taste, add some sour cream to the yogurt)
Diced pumpkin/lady's finger/potatoes - 1/2 cup
Seasonings - mustard seeds, curry leaves

To grind
Grated Coconut - 1/2 cup
Green chillies - 4-5
Jeera (cumin seeds) - 2 tsp
Coriander seeds - 1 tsp
Tur dal - 1 tbsp , soaked in water for 15 mins
Ginger - 1/2 inch piece

Grind all the above ingredients to a smooth paste.

Method

Heat oil in a flat bottomed vessel. Season with mustard seeds. Once they splutter, add the curry leaves. Now add the diced vegetables. Usually only one kind of vegetable is used. Add a little water to cover the vegetables and let boil till the vegetables are tender. Add the ground coconut paste with a little more water (1/2 cup). Season with salt and let boil for 10 minutes. Once the raw smell of the paste goes away, sim the heat to low. Add the buttermilk, stir and turn off the stove at once. It is important not to boil the buttermilk as this will cause it to curdle and the water to separate.

Serve with hot rice.

The moru kuzhambu is mixed with the rice and the kovakai kari is used as a side dish.

I am contributing this recipe to the Monthly Mingle which is about Healthy Family Meals this month. Some may disagree about coconut being 'healthy' but nutritionists suggest that although coconut is high in saturated fatty acids, it is actually beneficial because of its high content of lauric acid which has potent antiviral and antibacterial properties, and is believed to increase metabolic rate. So here's to many more simple healthy meals!

Diwali treats

Happy Diwali to all of you! Although the greetings are a tad belated, the Diwali spirit still prevails a week later in our home with the yummy sweets and snacks that mark the occasion. Diwali to me is glamorized by new clothes, fireworks and sweets (not necessarily in that order) and of course, the triumph of good over evil (not to pique my teeny spiritual side!). After coming to the US, with Diwali almost always falling on a work day, wearing new clothes or 'bursting' fireworks is not really possible. So my tradition has been to make the bakshanam (sweets and savories) at home and consume them in all glory on the festive day. And yes, I do share with friends! This year I made the traditional gothumai (wheat) halwa and ribbon pakoda. On previous occasions, I have tried to take the easy route and have made the halwa with store bought atta (wheat flour). But this never matches the real deal. This year I took traditional route, soaking whole wheat overnight and removing the 'milk' by grinding it the next day. The process is not as arduous as it sounds and the results make the efforts worth it. The savory 'Ribbon' pakoda is a kind of chakli/murukku, shaped like a ribbon as the name suggests. You need the typical achu (press) to make this. It can be compared to an icing cone with a long thin perforation.

Here are the recipes!

Halwa

Assemble

• 1 cup Whole wheat (wheat grains)
  
• 1 1/2 - 2 cups Sugar (can add more -upto 3 cups- to suit your taste)
• 5 -6 Elaichis (cardamom) - gently powdered with a pestle
  
• 1/2 cup Ghee (Increase if you like)
  
• Saffron color - 1 pinch

For garnishing - 1/2 cup chopped dry fruits (cashew, almonds or pista) lightly fried in 2 teaspoon ghee

Method

• Wash and soak the wheat overnight for atleast 12 hours.
• Grind the wheat in a blender with a cup of water. Then strain the mixture to dilute the thick milk.
• Add one more cup of water and grind again. Repeat the straining process. You will be left with only the husk.
• Pour the milk in a thick bottomed vessel on low heat. Add the sugar..
• Keep stirring continuously. This is the difficult part as even a little settling of the contents can cause the halwa to burn.
  
• Once the halwa starts to thicken, add the ghee. Keep stirring.
• Add the elaichi powder and saffron color. Keep stirring till the halwa leaves the side of the vessel and stirs with the ladle as one big mass. Then you know its done. Alternatively you could roll a piece of the halwa into a ball to see if its done.
• Add the dry fruits.Spread on a greased plate. Cut into desired shape when cool.

Ribbon Pakoda

Assemble

2 cups besan (gram flour)
1 cup rice flour
1 tbsp ghee
3 tsp red chilli powder
2 tsp salt
A pinch of asfoetida
Oil to deep fry

Method

• Add all the ingredients together and make a soft dough with water (1/2 cup)as you would make for rotis. If the dough is too soft, the ribbon pakoda will not turn out to be crisp. If it too hard, then it will be very difficult to squeeze the press.
  
• Heat oil in a big wok for deep frying.
• Put the dough into the achu and squeeze over the hot oil ino big circles. The shape does not matter coz you will break them into strips after frying.
• Remove and drain oil once the ribbon pakodas turn golden brown.
• Store in air tight containers.
  

Paneer Tikka Pizza

If you ever lived in Nungambakkam you would definitely remember 'Pizza time', a small pizza delivery store with an amazing selection at very low prices. This was almost 10 years ago. We could have medium pizzas delivered for just Rs 30 (less than a dollar!), the same costing more than 10 times now in Chennai. The specialty of this store was their unique Indian touch to pizza, namely the Paneer Pizza. Paneer does not melt when baked, and therefore gives a very unique zing to the regular pizza. For the base, I followed a recipe I found on Food Network.



Pizza Dough

1/2 cup warm water
2 teaspoons dry yeast (you can find these as small pouches in any grocery store)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons olive oil

To make pizza base

Mix the warm water and yeast in a small bowl to blend. Let stand until the yeast dissolves, about 5 minutes. Mix the flour and salt. Blend in the oil. Add the yeast mixture and mix just until the dough forms (like chapatti atta). Turn the dough out onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 1 minute. Transfer the dough to a large oiled bowl and turn the dough to coat with the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm draft-free area until the dough doubles in volume, about 1 hour. Punch the down dough and divide into 2 equal balls.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Sprinkle some flour over 2 rimless baking sheets or pizza stone if you have one. Remember to preheat the pizza stone by placing it in the cold oven first otherwise it would crack when exposed to sudden heat. Roll out each piece of pizza dough into a 10 to 11-inch-diameter round.You can use a rolling pin first and then smooth with your fingers. Transfer 1 dough to each prepared baking sheet.

Topping

Marinated Paneer cubes
Marinate the paneer cubes for 2 hours in a mixture of yogurt, red chilli powder, salt, cilantro chutney and some garlic pieces. You can find a more detailed recipe for marinade here. If you are pressed for time, you could skip the marination step and add the paneer pieces as is.

Onions slit long
Capsicum, long pieces
Shredded mozzarella cheese (handful or more)

Pizza sauce

5 tbsp crushed tomatoes (from can)
Italian herb seasoning
Crushed garlic cloves
Olive oil

Saute the garlic cloves in 2 tsp of olive oil. Add the crushed tomatoes. Sesaon with salt, crushed chilli flakes and Italian herbs (basil, oregano, thyme or any thing you have on hand). Keep the sauce on heat until it starts to boil.



To assemble pizza

Brush the tomato paste generously over the pizza base taking care to keep away from the corners. Arrange the paneer pieces, onions and capsicum over the sauce. Top with the mozzarella cheese.Bake the pizzas until the crusts are crisp and brown on the bottom and the mozzarella cheese is melted on top, about 15 minutes.

My verdict: I realized that pizza from scratch is not too hard to make. Best of all, home made pizzas are definitely more healthier as you can ration the oil and cheese, and also you can make the crust as thin as you would like it to be. I would give the pizza base a "4 star" rating (on a scale of 5 ). I felt it could have been more crispier. I am on the look out for better techniques to handle the dough which is an integral part of making the pizza.

Sizzling Pakodas

The winter is fast approaching. With it arrive the days of bundling up in heavy coats and scarves, wearing boots everyday, going to and coming back from work in the dark, forgetting how it feels to wear a light shirt and jeans and ( atlast the silver lining ...) drinking lots of garam garam (hot) chai or suda suda (hot) coffee. Chai and coffee kinda make up for the bitter cold days, don't you think? And what makes it even more enjoyable is when the hot beverage is accompanied by karu-muru (crunchy) pakodas. Thoughts of rainy days, the only time when the weather gets a little chilly, in Madras bring back to me memories of freshly fried pakodas laced with onions and chillies. When the temperature dipped very slightly here a few days back, my rantings about the cold started. But on a positive note, I decided to fry some pakodas.

Pakodas are very simple to make. They are made of besan (gram flour) and usually have spinach or onions in them. Bhajjis, which are similar to pakodas are made with more vegetables (brinjal, plantain, potato); the difference between them being that pakodas are bite sized and bhajjis are made with thick slices of vegetables. So here's the recipes for onion pakodas. If you want to maje spinach pakodas, substitute spinach instead of onions.



Assemble

1 cup of gram flour
1 small onion chopped in thin long slices
2 green chillies (jalapenos) finely chopped
Handful of cilantro leaves, finely chopped
Salt to season
Oil for deep frying (canola or vegetable oil not olive oil)

Method

• Mix the onions,gram flour and salt (to taste) in a bowl and let sit for 5 - 10 mins. The salt dehydrates the onions, so when you later add water it ensures that the mix does not end up very watery.

• Add the green chillies and cilantro and pour 2-3 tbsp of water and mix everything into a crumbly paste. The consistency should neither be too dry or too watery. You should be able to make clumps out of the mixture with your hand. If the mix is too dry it will usually disintegrate when added to the oil.

• In the meantime, heat oil in a shallow kadai. To test if the oil is ready for frying, add a little bit of the besan-onion mix to the oil, you will know the oil is ready if the mix rises up immediately with a sizzle.

• Make small clumps (do not have to be equal size or shape) and deep fry till golden.

The pakodas can be stored for a few days in air tight containers. You could reheat in the oven or eat it at room temperature. Is this not the best way to welcome the winter with some spice?!

Hot Spinach Artichoke Dip

The football is season is here. With the TV remote being monopolized by hubby dear, my precious TV watching time is now free for me to use constructively, maybe get some work done..... or maybe not. As I hover around to watch my favorite shows during commercial breaks (usually re-runs that I have watched a 100 times), I end up being drawn into the game. Although I am not a big fan, I must admit that I prefer watching American football to other sports (yes, even over cricket!). And the game is made more interesting if there is food to chomp on. Is it the game or the food I wonder now that keeps me near the couch?
The usual spread is chips, salsa ,soda, cookies and more chips. We had some friends over last nite to watch the Florida Miami game and I decided to kick it up a notch. Made my all time favorite dip with artichokes and spinach. This dish is always my first choice at Olive Garden. And googling, which I have great talent for, found me 3 different recipes which claimed to be the exact the copy cat recipe as Olive Garden. I chose the best ingredients from the three, made some adjustments of my own and was really pleased with my success. Thick toasted French bread dipped in cheesy spinach and artichokes definetely made the Gators win more enjoyable.

Assemble
1 (8 oz.) pkg Cream Cheese
1 can Artichoke Hearts, drained, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup chopped Spinach (I used fresh, frozen should do too)
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 tablespoon fresh basil
1/4 cup Mozzarella Cheese grated
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method
Allow the cream cheese to come to room temperature. Combine together the cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, garlic and basil. Mix well. Add the artichoke hearts and spinach (careful to drain this well), and mix until blended. You could refrigerate this until you are ready to use. Spray a pan with cooking spray, pour in the dip, and top with Mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until the top is browned. Serve with toasted bread, chips or pita.
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