Urad Laddu

Urad Dal is one of the most under rated pulses of South India. Other than idly/dosa batter or medu vada, not many use it in other preparations. Urad dal is available with its skin on or with the skin removed. 

Its totally one's choice as to what you would want to use, but the colour of the dish would vary because of the colour of the husk. Black gram requires only minimal soaking -- about half an hour -- before cooking, which takes another 30 to 40 minutes. Having high protein content similar to Moong Dal, I thought why not make a laddu out of this.

Urad Dal Laddu

Ingredients:

Ural Dal(without husk) - 1 cup
Sugar - 3/4 cup
Cardamom Powder/Elaichi Powder - 1 tsp
Cashew - 10 broken into small pieces
Raisins - 5 to 6
Ghee - 4 tbsp

Method:

1.Roast the Urad Dal in a wok or kadai  for 10 minutes on medium flame till a nice aroma emanates and the colour changes to very light brown.
2.Switch off the flame and transfer onto a plate to avoid further cooking, and allow it to cool.
3.In a mixer, take the 3/4 cups of sugar along with the elaichi powder and grind well till you reach a fine powder.
4.Now add the roasted urad dal and grind for 2 minutes till u reach a very fine powder consistency.
5.Now take a sieve and pass the finely ground mixture thru the sieve. Repeat the process twice.
6.In the same kadai/wok, take 4 tbsp of ghee, and fry the cashew pieces and raisins for more a minute till the cashew turns golden brown.
7.Remove from flame and add it to the finely ground urad dal powder.
8.Sprinkle 2 tbsp of milk and shape them in laddus as per your preference of size.
9.Refrigerate for an hour and this laddu will taste good the next day.

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Carrot Peas Paratha

Carrot n Peas Paratha

Whenever I need to invent something new for breakfast, I can only think of stuffed paratha where you can decide ,what should be stuffing depending on what vegetables you have at home.
A paratha/parantha/parauntha is a  wholewheat flatbread like a roti.There are two ways of making a parantha, you either mix the stuffing with the wholewheat flour or the stuffing is enveloped between two rotis and then cooked.For this carrot and peas parantha, I have used the latter method. This kind of parantha opens with crispier shell like layers.


Ingredients:
Wholewheat Flour - 2 cups
Carrot(Grated)- 1 cup
Peas(Boiled and mashed)- 1 cup
Jeera Powder/Cumin Powder- 1 tsp
Red Chilly Powder- 1 tsp
Dry Mango Powder/Amchur Powder - 1 tsp
Carrom Seeds/Ajwain- 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
Vegetable Oil - 4 tbsp
Salt to taste


Method:
1.In a bowl combine the flour, salt ,turmeric powder, and ajwain. With enough water knead into a soft dough.
2.In a wok/kadai,take 2 tbsp of oil, add shredded carrot, jeera powder, amchur powder, red chilly powder ,salt and saute on medium heat for 5 minutes without adding any water.
3.Now add the boiled peas and cook further for 5 more minutes. Let it cool down to room temperature.
4.Make equal sized balls of the dough. Roll two flat balls into chapatis/rotis of equal size and thickness.
5.On the kitchen counter , first place the rolled out chapati. Now take two teaspoon of the vegetable filing and spread it evenly across the chapati.
6.Now take the second chapati and place it on top of the vegetable filling. Gently press all sides without leaving any gaps in between.

 

7.Heat a tava and gently place the stuffed parantha. Drizzle 1 tsp of oil on each side and cook uniformly.
8.Serve hot with pickle of your choice and yogurt.

Goes well with sliced cucumbers too.

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Hummus

For quite a long time, I was wondering how to replace all the mayo and cheese spreads which we use at home with something healthy. Then, Hummus came to my mind.



Hummus is the Arabic word for chickpea/white kabuli channa. This is a part of the Egyptian cuisine, which my hubby introduced to me when we were in Paris, France. Many a times we have had Falafel with hummus for our lunch ,but never knew how to make it at home. Hummus is had Falafel along with a green vegetable salad  or with pita bread as an appetizer.

This also goes well with toasted bread and indeed a very healthy alternative to any store bought cheese spread.

Hummus




Ingredients:


Chickpeas/Channa(White)- 1 cup
Sesame Seeds(White)- 1/2 cup
Olive Oil- 1 cup
Garlic- 2 pods
Salt to taste



Method:



1.In a kadai/wok, saute the sesame seeds till they start to splutter.Remove from fire and allow it to cool down.
2. Soak the chickpeas overnight in water and pressure cook till tender.This would take 4 to 5 whistles.Allow it to cool down to room temperature.
3.In a mixer, first grind the sesame seeds tilll fine powder.Then include the cooked channa/chickpea,olive oil, garlic pods, and salt to taste.Grind till you reach a very fine consistancy.
4.Can be store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for a week.




Hummus, Vegetable Salad, Toasted Brown Bread

Best when had like this...

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Thai Green Curry

Thai cuisine is a potent mix of herbs and spices that add so much flavour and richness to the simple vegetables which we use in our day-to-day life.

Thai food is known for its balance of five fundamental flavors in the overall meal - spicy(hot), sour, sweet, salty and bitter.It offers some of the freshest and taste-bud awakening flavors.
Thai green curry is such a versatile dish where any type of vegetable can be added that you like.Don't be fooled by the simplicity of the ingredients - when they're put together what results is toooo delicious.

Read somwhere:“The best Thai food looks like a mess, but tastes like heaven”.

Ingredients:

Carrots(Diced) - 1 cup
Beans(Diced) - 1 cup
Cauliflower Florets - 1 cup
Peas - 1/2 cup
Cumin/Jeera Powder - 1 tsp
Coconut Milk- 1 1/2 cup
Vegetable oil- 3 tsp
Salt to taste

For the Green Sauce:
 Fresh Coriander with stems - 1 cup
 Fresh Mint Leaves - 1 cup
 Green Chillies - 3
 Tomato - 1 medium sized
 Onion- 1 medium sized
 Ginger- 1 inch sized
 Garlic- 4 pods
 Lime Juice- 2 tsp


Method:

1.Pressure the diced carrots,french beans,cauliflower florets and peas in a pressure cooker for one whistle with enough water and 1 tsp of salt.
2.In a wok/kadai,heat a 1 tsp of vegetable oil, and saute the diced tomato,onion,green chillies,garlic,ginger,fresh coriander and mint leaves for 2 minutes.
3.Remove from fire and set aside to cool.
4.In a mixer,grind the above with 1 cup of water and 2 tsp of lime juice to a fine paste.
5.In the same wok/kadai, heat 2 tsp of oil and add the ground paste,cumin powder and cook on medium flame for 5 minutes.
6.Now add the vegetables and cook for 10 minutes on low flame with covered lid.
7.When the vegetables have absorbed the flavors,adjust the salt and remove from fire.
9.Now add the coconut milk and allow it to rest for 10 minutes.

Goes great with, simple steamed white rice or Ghee rice.

Simply 'Aroy'.           


                                                           


Tip:

1.Do not cook the gravy after adding the coconut milk,else it would curdle.
2.Always include a little bit more spice,as the coconut milk will bring down the spice content of the dish.
3.If the curry is watery, add 1 tsp of cornflour diluted with 4 tsp of water and cook the gravy till your desired consistancy has been achieved.

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