Kanda Poha

An amazingly light and aromatic vegetarian breakfast/ tiffin dish from Maharashtra in Western India. Cooking this for the first time, from memory.

OK, we Indians eat a lot of rice. We even have rice for breakfast, in this case flattened rice or rice flakes. Think of it more like a convenience food- you could use it as a breakfast cereal in place of bran/ corn flakes/ etc. In fact historically, flattened rice was the dry food of choice for travelers. Light to carry, easily digestible it can be reconstituted by adding water or milk.

Anyway, during engineering college, this was a major breakfast draw and so here goes.

Ingredients (Breakfast for 2):

• Flattened rice (Poha)- 1 cup
• Onion (Kanda in Marathi)- 1 small
• Roasted Peanuts: 2 tbsp
• Curry leaves- 2 sprigs
• Fresh Coriander- 4 sprigs
• Green chili- 2 chopped
• Cumin- 1/2 tsp
• Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
• Lime- Half a lime
• Turmeric- 1/2 tsp
• Cayenne- 1/2 tsp
• Mustard Oil- 2 tbsp
• Salt- To taste

Preparation (Pre-process 20 mins+ 10 mins to cook=30 mins):

Wash the flattened rice, strain. Add a little salt and soak for 20 mins. Drain of excess water. 

Soak flattened rice for 20 mins with water and salt

Trick to a great Poha is to strain all excess water but make sure that the rice is moist.

Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, cumin and curry leaves. Once the mustard starts to pop, add the diced onion. Stir till translucent. Add in the roasted peanuts (I forgot this time round).

Stir on medium for a couple of minutes and add in the pre-soaked 'poha'. Add turmeric, cayenne and salt. Cooking on medium for five minutes. Work in the chopped green chilli, cover, and cook on low for five mins.

Fluff the rice, turn off heat, garnish with chopped coriander and drizzle the lime juice on top. Cover and serve hot.

Tips:

• For breakfast I recommend pairing this with a cuppa of hot 'kadak' milky Indian tea. 

Tofu, Bean Sprout and Snow Peas Salad

 Another one of those quick healthy lunches for the weekday. Or for that matter for a quick dinner.


Ingredients (Serves 1):

• Tofu-100 gm, diced
• Bean Sprouts- 100 gm
• Snow peas- 100 gm
• Lime- 1 small wedge
• Olive oil- For dressing
• Salt- To taste

Preparation:

Cut tofu, snow peas into smaller pieces. Shred bean sprouts. Drizzle with a little olive oil and lemon juice. Toss, refrigerate for the next day in air tight container. 

 Your fresh healthy salad is ready to boost your afternoon with vitamins, protein and fiber.

Barley, buckwheat, lentil & spinach salad

Fourth recipe for the weekend (rather my week beginning- while the whole world wakes up too a lazy Sunday breakfast, we head to office). Perfect for a light lunch or dinner.

Ingredients (Serves 1):

• Barley: 2 tbsp
• Buckwheat: 2 tbsp
• Lentils: 2 tbsp
• Baby Spinach: 100 gm, chopped
• Lime juice: 2 tsp
• Salt to taste

Preparation (20 mins):


Microwave at high with 1 cup of water and a pinch of salt for 15 mins.  Cool, add chopped spinach with a squeeze of lime. Toss. Lunch is ready.

Punjabi Kadhi

Kadhi, is a typical North Indian Punjabi dish for hot summer days. Going south, you find regional variations across the arid, dusty deserts of Mewar, Rajputana to the salt plains in the Rann of Katch. Typical to local cuisine which developed over ages, it is slightly tangy and made from yogurt gone sour and locally vailable chickpeas. Incorporation of ginger, pepper and cumin not only add a twist to the dish, but are traditional spices and condiments which help the body cool down and rehydrate. The chickpea flour is not only a good source of protein but traditionally is used in cooling drinks in India during summer time.

Ingredients (Serves 4):

• Sour Yogurt - 250 ml(I normally use Laban/ Aryan to substitute
• Besan( Chickpea flour)- 100 gm
• Ginger- 2 inch piece; shredded
• Cumin seeds- 1 tsp
• Cinnamon- 1/4 inch stick, crushed
• Turmeric- 1 tsp
• Cayene powder- 1/2 tsp (for colour)
•  Pepper- 1 tsp whole
• Red Chilli- 3
• Salt- To taste
• Sunflower oil- 1/2 tbsp

 Preparation (30 mins):

Whisk the yougurt with 1/2 a cup of water in a large bowl. Gently fold in the chickpea flour, whisking constantly so that there are no lumps left. Add the turmeric to the mixture and continue blending.

Saute the ginger, add cumin, cinnamon and red chilis to the mix. Once it starts to pop add cayene, a dash of salt and pour in the yogurt mix.



Cook on low heat for 15 mins while stirring continuously. Add a little water if required.
Just before finishing, throw in the pepper corns, cover and let it simmer for 5 mins.

Cool and serve.

Tips:

• Kadhi leftover from dinnermakes for a great lunch with rice- especially if you have one of those marathon siestas planned.

Veggie Bake

Quick dinner recipe for the nights you really don't feel like something heavy.


Ingredients (Serves 2):

• Eggplant- 3 small, tender, thinly sliced
• Zucchini- 4 small, thinly sliced
• Pumpkin- 100 gm, thinly sliced
• Mushrooms- 6 button mushrooms, sliced
• Olive oil- 2 tbsp
• Basil- 1 tsp
• Black pepper- 1/2 tsp, coarsely crushed
• Oregano- 1 tsp
• Salt- to taste

Preparation ( 1 hr 10 mins):

Layer veggies in a baking dish starting with eggplants on bottom, followed by zucchini, pumpkin and mushrooms. Sprinkle salt, basil, oregano, pepper and olive oil. Wrap dish in foil. Pop into pre-heated oven at 135 C for 1 hr.














 

 Serve hot.
 

Tips:

•  If you want to make it a bit more savory you could crumble in a little Roquefort into the mix.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Veggie Tajine

It's winter again. Slow warm afternoons rolling into peaceful evenings rolling into cool nights. Time for slow food. Nothing like a heartwarming smoky 'tajine'. A Berber chef I am not, but here's my adventure this evening. This one's dedicated to Sting and Cheb Mami- Gonna do this one while I listen to Desert Rose :)


 


 
Ingredients (Serves 1):

• Baby aubergines- 3 diced
  
• Tomato- 2 diced
• Bell pepper, green- 1diced
• Onion- 1 large, diced
• Garlic- 2 large cloves, shredded 
• Ginger- 1/2 inch, shredded
• Bay leaf-2 
• Thyme- 1 tsp
• Cumin- 2 tsp
• Turmeric- 1 tsp
• Cayenne pepper- 2 tsp
• Olive oil- 2 tbsp
• Salt- To taste

Preparation (105 mins):


Place aubergines in a baking dish, layer with onions, bell peppers & tomato's. Add ginger, garlic, salt, cayenne, thyme, cumin and bay leaves. Pour olive oil on top.



Wrap in foil. Pop into oven at 125 C for 90 mins.

 

Once done, open foil. Stir the mixture so that the flavours get mixed. 

Serve hot with unleavened Arabic or pita bread. Buen provecho.


Tips:

• Sit back and enjoy. :)
  
  
   

Suran ala Crème

No cream in this one. But picked up the name just because of the consistency of the final dish (plus I had created a dish called ….ala Crème). The inspiration behind this dish came while thinking of what could we have with poached fish. Was looking for something, that would be spicy, mashed like potato or tapioca and was different from your run of the mill flavours. Chancing upon yam at the supermarket, gave it a try.

Bon appetite.

[Incidentally, the fire extinguisher that you see in the picture has no specific relation to my confidence on pulling this dish off. It’s standard issue on all my cooking adventures. ;) ]

Ingredients:

Suran (Yam; a.k.a. ‘Ol’ in Bengali) - 400 gm
Onions- 5 large
Garlic- 3 large cloves
Ginger- ¼ inch stick (shredded)
Cinnamon – ¼ cm stick (coarsely crushed)
Turmeric- 1 ½ tsp
Red chilli- 6
Sugar- ½ tbsp
Cooking oil- 2 tbsp
Salt to taste


Preparation:

De-skin the yam and cut into ½ inch cubes, the smaller the better. Boil with turmeric and salt till macerated. Take off from flame and let cool. Julienne the onions and garlic. Heat oil in a non-stick pan and add onions, garlic and ginger. Fry on low heat till the onions start losing their colour. Strain the yam pieces and add to the pan. Keep cooking over low flame for five minutes.

Slowly add the turmeric-water-yam stock. By now the yam pieces would have really become soft. Now, mash the yams while still in the pan. Add the sugar and salt for taste. Break the red chillis’ into small pieces and mash into the yam paste. Keep adding water and cooking over low flame till the yam becomes a paste with the consistency of thick yogurt. Mix in cinnamon powder, cover and let cook for five minutes.

Serve hot with pancakes or rice or as an accompaniment to poached or fried fish with steamed fish. Warning!!!- Because of the large amount of chilli in the dish, this dish will bring tears (of joy I hope) to all but the most die-hard hot food aficionado.


Tips:

• Sometimes, if not cooked properly, yam causes an itchy feeling on lips and throat. Nothing serious, but in case you fall prey, just suck on a slice of lemon.

Sauted Veggies with Mustard Twist

A quick dish for the times you want a veggie side dish for a heavy meal.

Ingredients (Serves 2):
Potatoes- 3 large
Tomato- 1 small
Spring onions sprigs- 100 gms
Onions- 1 large
Oil- 2 tsp
Pepper corns- 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
Salt & sugar to taste


Preparation:
Boil potatoes. Heat oil in pan, and fry onions till golden, add the chopped potatoes along with mustard seeds, pepper corns, salt, sugar to taste. Fry till potatoes are almost cooked. Add chopped tomatoes, spring onions and a few sprigs of corriander. Cover. In five minutes it can be served.