Sauteed Spinach with Dal

Sautéed spinach with dal is an easy recipe to make and this can be had with rice, chapattis, or it can be served as a side dish. This is my entry for JFI: WBB-Greens

Method

• Heat the pan with oil, season with mustard, cumin, curry leaves, 4 green chilies finely chopped, 2 broken red chilies, and 4 pods of sliced garlic.

• Add 5- 6 chopped pearl onions, sauté them until it turns into light brown.

• Add a bunch of chopped spinach leaves and sauté them. Cover cook for 5 minutes in low-heat. Once the spinach is cooked add 4 to 5 tbsp of mashed toor dal and cook for few more minutes.
  

Serve it with rice or chapattis!!!

Thayir Vadai

This morning all of a sudden I thought about the RCI event and thought I would contribute some recipe for the event and came up with Thayir vadai aka Dahi vada. Here goes the recipe!!!!

Making Vadai

• Soak 1 cup of Urad dal in water for 4 hours or overnight. Grind the Urad dal to a smooth paste without water with 1tsp of ginger, 3 green chilies, 1tbsp rice flour, little asafoetida, and salt.
  

Frying Process

• Heat the oil in a pan, place a plastic sheet (zip lock works best) in your palm and wet the plastic sheet with little water.

• Place a spoon of urad dal batter on the plastic sheet and press into a flat shape with help of your hand and make a small hole in the middle (just like a doughnut)

• Drop the vada’s into the oil and deep fry them until it turns light brown. Arrange the vada’s in a flat tray.
  

Making Thayir/Dahi

• Beat 2 cups of curd with little salt to a smooth liquid, if the curd is too thick you can add little water. Pour the curd over the vada’s and cover them completely. Refrigerate the soaked vada’s for 3- 4 hrs. While serving garnish with chopped cilantro, carrots, boondi, chat masala or red chili powder as per your taste.
  

This is my entry for RCI - Tamil Cuisine Event.

Roasted Asparagus

If you were like me who wants to try asparagus, but afraid about how the recipe is going to turn out and not tried at all? I guess now is the time to try out for the people who are afraid about this veggie. There are few programs I watch at food network; shows of Giada’s, Rachel Ray, Sandra lee, and recently I started to watch Barefoot Contessa shows and that’s how I got this recipe. It was quite simple and easy to cook and less work for me. May be you also like to know how this recipe tastes? - It tastes like boiled peanuts. Here goes the recipe!!

Method

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
  

• Break off the tough ends of the asparagus and peel them. Brush the baking sheet with olive oil and place the asparagus.
  
• Drizzle 2 tbsp of olive oil, salt and ground pepper and coat them completely. Bake them for 15 – 20 minutes until the asparagus is tender and crisp.
  
• Take it out and sprinkle with 1 tbsp of Parmesan and return to the oven for another minute.
  

Serve with lemon wedges

Notes:

You can skip parmesan part, and you can try this recipe directly on the stove top.

Palada Pradhaman

Palada pradhaman is a sweet dish made of flakes of cooked rice, milk, and sugar. A Sadhya means “big feast” in Malayalam is not completed without a dessert. Since “Vishu” (Malayalam New Year day) is nearing I decided to make palada pradhaman. Anyone who visits Guruvayoor temple wouldn’t miss this dessert. Ready made rice ada is available in all Kerala grocery stores, and it is pretty easy to make this recipe.

Ingredients (Recipe for two)

• Rice ada ½ cup
• Milk 2 ½ cups
• Sugar ½ cup
• Ghee 2 tsp
• Cardamom powder ¼ tsp
• Cashews 1tbsp

Method

• Soak rice ada in boiling hot water for 10 minutes and rinse them in cold water.

(Rice ada- available at Kerala Grocery stores)

• In a pressure cooker, add milk, rice ada, sugar, and cardamom powder and cook in medium heat until the cooker releases the first whistle. Turn off the heat and let it remain in the same stove top for 10 -15 minutes.
• Remove the lid, milk and ada turns to a light pink color.
• Transfer the mixture to another vessel and cook the mixture in medium heat for another 20 minutes until the consistency becomes thick.
• Once the mixture becomes thick turn off the heat. In another pan, add 2 tsp of ghee and fry the cashews and add to the mixture.

Serve hot or cold.

Notes

• You can make Palada prathaman in a traditional way by skipping the cooker method. Instead of making it in a cooker, you can heat milk, sugar, rice ada, cardamom and cook until the consistency becomes thick. This will take minimum 1 hr to 1 ½ hrs, and follow rest of the seasoning process as above.
• Preparing pradhaman by cooker method saves time and the results are the same. The cooker method helps to cook the rice ada fast.

Ellavarkum ente Vishu Ashamsakal - Wishing everyone a very happy New Year:)
Vishukani
Vishu sadya
Simple sadya (pappadam, manga achaar, puli inji, avial, pachadi, cabbage thoran, vazhakka thoran, rice, kerala sambhar, palada pradhaman)

Potato Bonda

Sometimes some recipes go off your mind for a while and suddenly you start to crave for it. One of the recipes was bonda to me- spiced potato balls dipped in gram flour batter and deep fried in oil. This appetizer is scrumptious and you can have anytime, but for me its a perfect tea time snack. You can try this recipe with tapioca, sweet potato, boiled egg, or with minced meat. Here goes the recipe!!!

Method

• Peel 3 potatoes and cut into small chunks; arrange them in a microwave safe dish and sprinkle 2tbsp of water and cover cook for 4-5 minutes. Once done, smash the potatoes before it becomes cold.
  

• In a pan, add 2 tsp of olive oil, cumin seeds, curry leaves, ½ onion chopped finely, 2 green chilies finely chopped, 1tsp of ginger paste or ginger chopped, and finally add the smashed potatoes, little turmeric and salt to taste, saute them well and turn off the heat.
  

• Allow them to cool and make small balls with your hands.

For the batter

• Take 1 cup of gram flour (chickpea flour), 1tsp chili powder, 1tbsp rice flour, little asafetida, and salt to taste. Mix all the ingredients to a thick paste with the required amount of water. Allow it to rest for 15 minutes
  

Last step

• Heat oil, dip the balls into the batter and deep fry them.
  

Serve hot with chutneys or tomato sauce.