Focaccia Caprese

We Knead to Bake! I joined this group last year and dropped out after a couple of months. Did I not enjoy baking bread? Actually, I did enjoy it very much. And I enjoyed baking with a group. There is so much inspiration and motivation that it becomes tough to resist. I dropped out because I knew I would be traveling, had guests at home and at the end of it all, I was so far out that it was tough to come back. I didn't want anyone in the group to think I was dragging my feet.

This year, I thought I could learn to manage my time better. And I definitely wanted to keep trying new breads. So, I signed up again. With encouragement from all of you and the group, I am certain I can keep up. Or at least I know I will try very hard.

This month's bread is the Focaccia Caprese, adapted from The Kitchen Whisperer. It only took me a few minutes to put this together and it was gone equally quickly. The only waiting was the time that the yeast took to get to work.

For the Dough:

2 tsp Instant Yeast

1 1/2 tbsp Sugar

3 1/2 cups Bread Flour

1 tsp Salt

1/4 cup Olive oil

1 1/2 cups Warm water

A little more olive oil for brushing the dough

For the Topping:

2 Tomatoes, sliced thin

1 6” round piece of Fresh Buffalo Mozzarella, cut into1/4” slices

1/2 cup Fresh Basil Leaves, chiffonaded

For the Herbed Oil:

1/4 cup Olive Oil

1 tsp dried Oregano

1 tsp dried Basil

1/2 tsp Red Chilli flakes 

1/2 tsp Garlic Powder

Salt to taste 

In a bottle, add all the ingredients for the herbed oil and shake well.

Oil a baking tin. Heat the oven to 210C/410F.

In a bowl, add the sugar, salt, and olive oil and mix well. Add the warm water and mix until the sugar dissolves. Add the yeast and mix well. Add the bread flour and mix until everything comes together. Knead for a few minutes. The dough will be a bit sticky at this point. Make it into a ball and cover it with oil.

Cover with cling film or a damp cloth and allow it to rise. This will take about 45 minutes to an hour. Divide the dough into 4 parts.

Take one part and stretch it into the prepared baking tin by patting it down. Stretch the dough as it will tend to spring back. Allow it to rise for another 20 minutes.

Make a few depressions all over the dough with a well oiled finger and brush the entire surface with oil.

Bake for 15 - 20 minutes, until the bread is golden brown. 

Lightly drizzle some of the herbed oil over the bread and then evenly arrange some slices of mozzarella over the bread, leaving very little space between them. Arrange the tomato slices over this and a little sprinkle the chiffonaded basil over this. The topping should cover most of the surface of the bread.

Turn the heat of the oven up to 230C/450F. Drizzle more herbed oil over the bread and place it back in the oven for 5-7 minutes.

Cut it into slices while still warm and enjoy it fresh out of the oven. This bread was gone in no time. Given how easy this recipe is, I know I will make it more often.

Ragi Appey - Almost Instant Goodness

 

 

Last month, we had been to the US to attend my graduation ceremony. Before the ceremony, we spent a few days with S's sister. She told me about making dosas without grinding. She merely added water and salt to a mixture of rice and udad flours and allowed it to ferment. I had tried something similar before, but had added baking soda to the mixture. I liked the idea of natural fermentation. I wanted to try it after we got back.
 

In one of my recent posts, I talked about how our blogs have crossed the boundaries of the blogosphere and how we are all connected via social media. This post and the dish it talks about have come about thanks to a food related discussion on Facebook.
 

Aparna started a discussion asking people about mannchattis. Suddenly, the discussion spilt over to kalchattis and kuzhipaniyaram pans. Then as a continuation of that, there was more talk of neiyappams and their pans. I was drooling. I was hungry. And I had to do something about it.
 

 

I decided to make grind free dosa batter. I tweaked the batter by adding ragi flour to the it. The weather happened to be rainy and not very hot. So natural fermentation may need a bit of a helping hand, I thought. And my idea worked. I was rewarded with a plate of hot appeys.

 

1 cup Udad Flour

1 cup Rice Flour

1 cup Ragi Flour

1 tsp Instant Yeast

Salt

 

Mix the flours and the salt and add enough water to make a dosa like thick batter. Add the yeast and mix well. Allow to ferment for an hour or so.

 

As a variation to this plain batter, I also made the masala variation by adding to the batter:

 

1 Tomato, finely chopped

1 Onion, finely chopped

1 Green Chilli, finely chopped

1/2" piece Ginger, finely chopped

1/4 cup Coriander Leaves, finely chopped

 

Heat the appey kayli and smear a drop of oil onto each mould. Simmer the flame and pour a spoonful of the batter into each mould. Turn each ball after a few minutes using a pick. Enjoy them fresh off the pan.

 

A, who did not care for dosas made from the same batter, loved these. He called them "ball". They're healthy enough for a toddler, are something he can eat  by himself (when sufficiently cooled) and have everything that makes them a meal. What's not to love?

Macaroni with Tomato-Ricotta Cheese Sauce

When my parents spent a month with us, I realized that I barely cooked. I seemed to cook lunch for S and myself, but Amma took care of almost everything else. One weekend, I decided to drag my lazy self into the kitchen and cook a meal. I wasn't donning the chef's hat yet, so I wanted to be out of the kitchen as soon as possible. So, pasta it was. I got a lot of appreciation for a lunch that involved emptying different cartons/bottles from the refrigerator. Now, who can complain?

2 cups Macaroni, prepared as per the instructions on the pack.

1 cup Pizza Sauce (I used American Garden)

3/4 cup Ricotta Cheese

1 tbsp Olive Oil

1 tsp Garlic Paste

1 tsp Parsley

1 tsp Basil

1 tsp Oregano

Salt and Pepper to taste

Heat the oil. Add the garlic paste and fry for a minute. Add the pizza sauce, parsley, basil and oregao and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the salt and cook for a minute. Crumble the ricotta cheese into the sauce and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Season with pepper and pour the sauce over the macaroni.

Enjoy this with some Garlic Bread or Garlic Toast. And wait for the compliments to come pouring in.

Soya Makhani

When we moved to this new apartment, I somehow didn't manage to cook anything decent for the first few days. But we still took our lunch packed in boxes. The lunches usually had soya, paneer, peas, lentils... you get the drift, don't you? Since Amma and Appa were here then, Amma would make dinner each night and that was the only meal which gave us our vegetable fix.

Soya makhani is one such dish that was put together in less than 10 minutes. Thanks to soya chunks and bhuna masala. This is kind of like the vegetarian version of butter chicken, but made completely the cheater's way.

1 cup Soya Nuggets, prepared according to instructions on the pack

1 packet Maggi Bhuna Masala for Gravy Dishes

1/2 cup Milk

1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder

1 tsp Chilli Powder

1 tsp Dried Fenugreek Leaves (Kasuri Methi)

Salt to taste

Heat the bhuna masala in a kadhai and add the chilli powder, turmeric and salt. Fry for a minute.

(If you do not have access to Maggi Bhuna Masala, you could heat a tablespoon of oil, fry the paste of 1 onion along with a teaspoon of ginger garlic paste. After the onion paste is fried for 3-4 minutes, add 2-3 tbsp of tomato puree and cook for 2-3 minutes more.)

Add the milk and bring the mixture to a boil over a low flame. Add the soya nuggets and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the dried fenugreek leaves and take off the flame. Serve hot with rotis.

Macaroni Casserole

These days I seem to need all the inspiration I can find to cook. I've tried different meal plans, tried to cook as much as possible in advance, etc. But there are days when even the best laid plans turn their noses, lift up their thumbs and say Na-na-na-na-na. Last Thursday was one such day. I remembered my namesake's moussaka and Nupur's green bean casserole and ended up making a casserole with just about everything I could lay my hands on.

2 Potatoes, boiled, peeled and sliced

1 cup Macaroni, prepared according to instructions on the pack

1 cup Pasta Sauce

1 Onion, finely chopped

1/2 cup Spinach puree

1/4 cup Sweet Corn

1 tsp Olive Oil

1 tsp Mixed Herbs

1 tsp Chilli Flakes

1 cup White Sauce

1 slice Cheese

1/4 cup Bread Crumbs

Salt and Pepper to taste

Butter to grease the tin

Grease the tin with the butter. Preheat the oven to 200C (400F).

Heat the olive oil in a pan and saute the onions. Add the mixed herbs and the chilli flakes. Add the corn along with a little water. Cook until the corn is soft and the water has evaporated. Add the spinach puree and a little salt. Keep aside.

Blend the white sauce with the cheese and keep aside.

Arrange the potato slices to cover the base of the tin. Spread the pasta sauce over the potatoes. Spread the macaroni over this. Cover with the spinach and corn mixture. Pour the white sauce over this spinach layer. Season with salt and pepper and cover with bread crumbs. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Serve hot.

There were two things that I really liked about this casserole: The different flavours that came together beautifully and the wonderful colour combination that made it a visual treat.

Pumpkin and Tomato Soup

When I started blogging, I don't think I had even tasted Pumpkin Soup. Pumpkin was best used in sambar or vathal kuzhambu. I didn't think very much of this vegetable. Amma used to make a typical upkari with finely chopped pumpkin, but I didn't miss it if she didn't make it for a decade. I loved making (and eating) Pumpkin Pie. In the past couple of years, I have used this vegetable extensively in soups, side dishes and even used it in a cake. And I've been expermenting quite a bit.

The latest experiment was with a soup. I started out making the traditional tomato soup, but decided to use of the bag of cubed pumpkin that was stashed away in the freezer. I quite enjoyed the soup. It was rather filling and all I needed to go with it was a couple of cream crackers.

1 cup Pumpkin, cubed

4 Tomatoes, diced
1 Onion, diced
2 pods Garlic
Salt and Pepper to taste

Pressure cook the vegetables and the garlic with 2cups of water. When cool, blend in a liquidizer and strain. Bring the liquid to a boil. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

If you're like me, there, dinner's on the table!

If you miss the train I'm on...

... you will know that I am gone. You can hear the whistle blow a 100 miles.

I'm sure you're all wondering what these lines have to do with my food blog. Agreed that this is the blog of The Singing Chef and that music has to be a part of this journey. Read on till the end if you want to unravel this little mystery. This is a long post.

I have always talked about why blogs and cookbooks will co-exist. Each fixes a different problem, a different need. There is a certain joy in going through a cookbook, getting inspired by it, cooking something from it and enjoying it. There is a different joy in blog hopping, finding a recipe, cooking it, letting the blogger know (or even seeking inputs where necessary) and then telling the whole world what a nice recipe that blogger put up. Overall, it fosters a sense of camaraderie. This post is my way of saying thanks to my fellow bloggers for putting up some delicious recipes that have added much needed variety to our dinner table. Some of the recipes that I tried (and we loved) are:

Pumpkin Erissheri from the Jugalbandits.

Tomato Spinach Pulao from Nags' Edible Garden.

Indian Style Baked Tofu from Madhuram's Eggless Cooking.

Pasta the forgotten way from Arundati's Escapades.

Mushroom Stroganoff from Aarti's Life Goes On.

Baby Carrots and Thyme from Nandita's Saffron Trail.

Chukku Kaapi from Mishmash

I have told you all that I didn't intend for this blog to become what it has. All this is a bonus. I only hoped to create a repository of recipes that I can access easily. Today, there are so many people who write back and let me know they tried something from my blog. I feel thrilled. When my "forced-to-be-bachelors-for-a-week" friends write in and tell me they cooked a simple meal from my blog which spared them another night of Maggi, I feel honoured. Then there are some folks out there who would make it seem like I am a celebrity (one even said as much!) and have nominated this blog in the Best Baking Blog category in the FoodBuzz 2009 Food Blog Awards!

This post is as much one to thank each and everyone of you who has visited this blog, encouraged me to continue blogging (especially at those times when I felt like giving up). I want to acknowledge the friends who have come into my life through this very medium. I want you all to know that I am deeply grateful for your presence in my life today. To all of you, I say:

I'm on the top of the world lookin down on creation

And the only explanation I can find

Is the love that I've found ever since youve been around

Your love's put me at the top of the world

But why am I singing the song by Carpenters, when I started with that beautiful song by Peter, Paul and Mary?

If you miss the train I'm on, you will know that I am gone

You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles,

A hundred miles, a hundred miles, a hundred miles, a hundred miles,

You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles.

Lord I'm one, lord I'm two, lord I'm three, lord I'm four,

Lord I'm 500 miles from my home.

500 miles, 500 miles, 500 miles, 500 miles

Lord I'm five hundred miles from my home.

Because Lord I'm one, lord I'm two, lord I'm three, lord I'm four, Lord I'm 500 posts from my home. And to reach this wonderful milestone on the day that S and I celebrate our 3rd wedding anniversary makes both the celebrations that much sweeter! Happy Anniversary Sachin. You've made the last three years so memorable and I look forward to all the memories we will create together.

Chana Salad

When we’re hosting a party, I am either extremely laidback (which means some Haldiram’s kind of items will flow from their packets, some McCain’s stuff will migrate from the freezer to the oven, and we’ll make do with what we have) or go extremely overboard (make cutlets, cut vegetable sticks and make a curd dip to go along with it, bake some savoury biscuits, crackers, muffins, mini pizzas etc, etc). It is very rarely that you would find me walking the middle path. On one of those very rare occasions, I made this salad and served it along with some readymade snacks. It was gone in almost no time.


1 cup Chickpeas, soaked and cooked
1 Tomato, chopped
1 Onion, chopped
1 Carrot, chopped
1/2 cup Coriander Leaves

2 pods Garlic

1" piece Ginger

2 Green Chillies
Juice of 1 Lime

Salt to taste


Prepare the chutney by grinding the coriander leaves with the garlic, ginger, green chillies and salt together. Add the lime juice and mix well.


Place the chickpeas, tomato, onion and carrot in a salad bowl. Add the chutney like a dressing and toss well.


Tasty, healthy and great with drinks. There’s precious little you could ask for over and above all this. No, really!

Tomato, Basil and Macaroni Soup

I can't remember where I tasted this soup first. But I do remember having loved it at first slurp! I made this on a day that I had a lot of tomatoes and a whole bunch of fresh basil. I know that tomato and basil are truly made for each other. I threw in some boiled macaroni and made a meal out of this soup.

6 Tomatoes, chopped

1/4 cup Basil leaves, roughly chopped

1/2 cup Macaroni, prepared according to instructions on pack

1/2 tsp Chilli Flakes

Salt and Pepper to taste

In a pressure cooker, cook the tomatoes, chilli flakes and basil along with 2 cups of water. Blend in a liquidizer and strain. Bring this mixture to a boil. Add the cooked macaroni and season with salt and pepper.

Perfect for those times when you want a hot, comforting, yet quick meal. Off this goes to the Think Spice Think Red Chillies event over at Kitchen Chronicles.

Baingan Bharta

I didn't always like the taste of smoked brinjals. I love brinjals otherwise, but this one method of cooking was never a favourite. If Amma wanted to make thogayal/thuvayal, she would steam the brinjals in the cooker. Now, I have come to appreciate the flavour a lot more. When Amma was here sometime back, she made this Baingan Bharta. Even my Punjabi colleagues said it was to die for.

1 large Brinjal, roasted on an open flame

1 Onion, chopped finely
1 Tomato, chopped finely
1 tsp Ginger Paste
1 tsp Chilli Powder
1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
1/2 tsp Coriander Powder
1/4 tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp Oil
Salt to taste

Place the roasted brinjal in a bowl of water. Remove the charred skin and keep the brinjal aside. Mash the cooked brinjal a little.

Heat the oil in a kadhai. Add the onions and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the ginger paste along with the turmeric, coriander and chilli powders. Add the salt and the tomato and fry for 3-4 minutes. Add the mashed brinjal and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Add the garam masala and garnish with some chopped coriander if you like. Serve hot with chapatis/phulkas.

Panchratni Dal

For the longest time, I cooked with only Toor Dal. At best, I'd make this moong dal preparation. I have tried very often to cook with other dals and I find that mixing them up is the way that works well with me. The flavours are part known and part unknown. So, I know for a fact that I won't be completely repulsed by a new flavour.

This is one such mixed dal. I got the idea from one of Tarla Dalal's books (yet again!), but have modified it and made it many times. It is a great hit at office and at home. I felt the need to impress my parents with some "wow" food. I served this at lunch when they were visiting and they were impressed. The dal isn't too spicy nor too mild. It is one of those dishes that make you say, 'Just perfect!"

1/2 cup Mixed Dals (Moong, Masoor, Urad, Chana and Toor)
1 tsp Cumin
1 Onion, chopped
1 tsp Coriander powder
1 tsp Chilli powder
1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
1 tbsp Coriander, chopped
1 tbsp Ghee
Salt to taste

For the tempering:

1 tbsp Butter
1 Tomato, chopped

1/2 cup Curd

1/4 tsp Garam Masala

Wash the dals and soak them for about 30 minutes.

In a pressure pan, heat the ghee and add the cumin. When the cumin starts to crackle, add the onion and fry for about 2-3 minutes. Drain the water from the dals and add this to the onion mixture. Fry together for about a minute and add about 2-3 cups of water. Cover and cook for 3 whistles. Open the lid after the pressure has been released and add the coriander powder, chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt. Cook this mixture until the dal thickens. Mash the dals.

In another pan, melt the butter and add the chopped tomato. When the tomato has cooked a bit, add the curd and the garam masala and cook for a minute or so. Add this to the dal. Garnish with chopped coriander and enjoy the dal with rotis or rice.

I'm sending this to Barbara's event A Taste of Yellow with a hope to help raise awareness for cancer on a global level.

Mirchi ki Sabzi

I had this bag of chillies that I have no idea why I bought. My friend suggested that I pick it up so I could make Mirchi ka Salan. The idea seemed nice and all that, but I never did get around to making mirchi ka salan. After all, that dish tastes best with some authentic biryani on the side. Now, I’d think it is an effort to make biryani itself. So, for me to make biryani and then this mirchi ka salan would be a bit much. (It would be easier to go to Hyderabad than to try cooking all that at home, don’t you think?) Though I must admit, I ALWAYS buy these chillies hoping secretly to make salan!

The bag of chillies lay languishing in the crisper until one Saturday afternoon, when I felt really sorry for them and decided to do “something” about them. I decided to cook them in a standard tomato onion gravy. In addition to the Aashirwad Multipurpose cooking paste, I now have access to Maggi Bhuna Masala too. But when I started to make this, I got carried away by different things I saw around me in the kitchen and the resultant dish was nothing like what I’d intended it to be. But it was great tasting nonetheless. I served it with some jeera rice and while I was happy for sure, I had one very happy husband at home that afternoon. The one question he repeated over and over was: I know you experimented, but do you remember what you actually put in this?


250 g Large Green Chillies, chopped into 1 inch pieces
1 packet Maggi Bhuna Masala (for gravies)


To be ground to a paste


¼ cup Peanuts, roasted
1 tbsp Sesame seeds, roasted
3 Red Chillies
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
½ tsp Coriander Seeds
Salt to taste


Heat a kadhai and add the contents of the Bhuna Masala. (Alternatively, you could heat some oil and fry 1 chopped Onion, ½ tsp Ginger Paste, ½ tsp Garlic Paste. When the onions are fried, add 1 chopped tomato and fry for a minute or two. Add a little water and make it into a gravy.) Add the chopped chillies and fry for 2-3 minutes. Add the ground paste and fry again for 2-3 minutes. Add a little water and bring to a boil.

I am certain this dish would taste as great with rotis as it does with rice.

Sundried Tomato and Cheese Muffins

A trip is always fun. A trip by road is even more fun. A trip by road in your car is even more fun. A trip by road in your car with your good friends is even more fun than that. But the best of them all is a trip by road in your car with your good friends and a basket full of homemade food.


We set out on this journey last month to an old Haveli in Rajasthan. S and I, along with out friends P and N. We were not sure of the roadside eateries on this route and didn’t want to stop for dinner on the way. We really wanted to get there as early as possible. I made some sweet muffins and these savoury muffins to eat along the way. With some sauce on the side, these were gone in no time.

1/8 cup Oil
1/2 cup Wheat Flour
1/4 cup Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tbsp Sugar
A pinch of Salt
1 egg
1/4 cup Milk
1/2 tsp Dried Thyme

1 tsp Paprika

1/4 tsp Chilli Flakes

1/4 cup Sundried Tomatoes, chopped

1 Onion, chopped

25g Cheddar Cheese, diced

Preheat the oven to 190 C (375 F). Place paper cases in a nine inch muffin pan.

Sift the dry ingredients and keep aside. Whisk the eggs, milk, oil and thyme. Slowly add the dry ingredients and stir gently. Add the onion, sundried tomatoes and cheese and mix together. Place a spoonful of batter in each cup.

Bake for 25 minutes. Enjoy while warm though they keep for a couple of days.

Palak ki Sabzi

I need a bigger fridge. And I definitely need a bigger freezer. I seem to make double batches of just about everything so that I can save time another day. I seem to chop, grate, puree and pressure cook wholesale. I don’t cook and freeze full meals. I like to eat fresh meals but I’m not against freezing entire meals. It’s just that my freezer is already bursting at its seams and I feel sorry for it at times.

But there are some things that I cannot bring myself to do on a regular basis. Like clean spinach. That is something I do in bulk. And then dishing out something like this to eat with chapattis is not tough at all. In fact, I cook and puree the spinach before freezing it.


1 bunch Spinach, cooked and pureed
1 Onion, ground to a fine paste
2 tbsp Tomato Puree
1 tsp Green Chilli Paste
1 tsp Ginger Paste
1 tsp Garlic Paste
1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
1/4 tsp Chilli Powder
1 tsp Oil
Salt to taste

Heat the oil and fry the onion paste for a few minutes. Add the ginger, chilli and garlic pastes and fry for a minute. Add the tomato puree, salt, chilli and turmeric powder and fry for a couple of minutes before adding the spinach puree. Bring the mixture to a boil. Simmer for 4-5 minutes.

At one point, I'd eaten this with rice too. But it tastes best with chapattis and bread. Let me know how you like it.

Mushroom Peas Masala

When mushrooms are in "season", you can always find a packet in my fridge. By season, I mean when a packet costs between Rs. 15 and Rs. 25 for 200g. During the summer months, the price shoots up to Rs. 250 a kilo and I miraculously manage to do without them. Somehow, even when my fridge is full of mushrooms, I rarely think beyond my tried and tested recipes. Soup or pasta is usually where the mushrooms land up. On rare occasions, I make breakfast or a snack using mushrooms. I do have a few Indian recipes that we both enjoy, but somehow I don't always look at a bag of mushrooms and go "Indian".

1 cup Mushrooms, diced

1/2 cup Peas, cooked

1 Onion, chopped finely
1 Tomato, chopped finely
1 tsp Ginger Paste
1 tsp Chilli Powder
1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
1/2 tsp Coriander Powder
1 tsp Kitchen King Masala
1 tsp Oil
Salt to taste

Heat the oil in a kadhai. Add the cumin seeds. When they crackle, add the onions and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the ginger paste along with the turmeric, coriander and chilli powders. Add the Kitchen King Masala, salt and the tomato and fry for 3-4 minutes. Add the mushrooms and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the peas with about 1/4 cup of water. Cover and cook for 4-5 minutes.

This dish is ready in very short while and tastes great with chapattis. I am not so sure about rice, but you could give it a shot. With the tang of tomatoes and the sweetness of peas, I'm sending this loaded dish to this month's FIC: Red and Green.

Zucchini Tomato Soup

This may not look like the most appetizing of soups. Especially, given the lovely colour of most soups I've made this winter. But since I tried it out and since it was a nice nourishing soup which we really liked, I had to share it with all of you. This is a nice way to use up zucchini after making all those lasagne and stir fries.

2 Zucchinis, diced

4 Tomatoes, chopped

2 Onions, chopped

1 tsp Garlic, chopped

1 tsp Oil

1 tbsp Mixed Herbs (Parsley, Basil, Oregano)

1/4 tsp Nutmeg Powder

Salt and Pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a pressure pan. Add the onions and garlic and fry for a minute. Add the tomatoes and zucchini and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the herbs and the nutmeg powder. Add 2-3 cups of water and pressure cook for 2-3 whistles.

Blend in a liquidizer and pour the contents into a pan. Bring the soup to a boil. Season with salt and pepper. Close your eyes and enjoy the soup while it is still hot.

Tomato Semia Pulao

One morning, I decided I wasn't in the mood for rice. I definitely didn't feel like making chapattis. And for some vague reason, even upma didn't seem like a good option. Then I remembered reading this recipe years ago on a vermicelli packet. It seemed perfect for that morning. It gave me that kick which I get from trying something new. And it tasted great in our lunch box.

2 cups Roasted Vermicelli

2 Onions, sliced

4 Tomatoes, chopped

1 tbsp Oil

2" Stick Cinnamon

2 Cloves

1 Green Cardamom

1 tsp Green Chilli Paste

1 tsp Ginger-Garlic Paste

1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder

1/4 tsp Chilli Powder

Salt to taste

Heat the oil in a pan. Add the cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. Add the onions and fry for a minute. Add the chilli and the ginger-garlic pastes and fry for 2-3 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes and fry for another couple of minutes. Add the turmeric and chilli powders along with the salt. Add the vermicelli and mix well. Add 4 cups of hot water and cover and cook for 5 minutes.

Enjoy this with some cool raita on the side.

Lal Lobia Curry

There are several kinds of lentils which I don't have access to in Delhi/Gurgaon. Pigeon Peas and Hyacinth Beans would rank on top of my list. I use my stock so sparingly that I don't touch the last packet I have until I have received the next batch of supplies. All the same, I do use lentils quite regularly.

In an attempt to widen my "range" of lentils, I bought a packet of Brown Cow Peas (Lal Lobia in Hindi, Bagdo in Konkani). I soaked some one night, but I had no clue what to do with it the next morning. I made this simple curry for us to eat with chapattis. I quite relished it.

1 cup Brown Cow Peas, soaked overnight and drained

1 Onion, ground to a paste

1/4 cup Tomato Puree

1 tsp Ginger Paste

1 tsp Garlic Paste

1 tsp Chilli Powder

1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder

1 tsp Paneer Tikka Masala (optional)

1 tsp Oil

Salt to taste

Coriander Leaves for garnish

Heat oil in a pressure pan. Add the onion paste and fry for a minute. Add the ginger and garlic pastes and fry for 2-3 minutes. Add the salt, chilli powder, turmeric powder, and the paneer tikka masala (if using). Fry for a couple of minutes. Add the tomato puree and fry for a minute. Add the drained cow peas and 2-3 cups of water. Pressure cook for 4-5 whistles. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Serve hot with chapattis, bread or rice.

Tamata Pappu

This is one of the two "dals" S talks about. I've blogged about Palakkoora Pappu earlier. The "other" dal is Tamata Pappu. In fact, my friend says that her husband only wants these two dals all the time. I had not eaten this dal anywhere, but now we eat it every once in a while.

1 cup Red Gram Dal (Toor Dal)

2-3 Tomatoes, chopped

1 Onion, chopped

1 tsp Roasted Fenugreek Powder

1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder

1 tsp Chilli Powder

2 Garlic Pods, chopped

1/2 tsp Coriander-Cumin Powder

1 tsp Green Chilli Paste

1 tsp Oil

1/4 tsp Mustard Seeds

1/4 tsp Fenugreek Seeds

7-8 Curry leaves

1/4 tsp Asafoetida

Salt to taste

Chopped Coriander Leaves for garnish

Pressure cook the dal with 2-3 cups of water. Mash well and keep aside.

In a pan, heat the oil. Add the mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds and asafoetida. When the mustard splutters, add the curry leaves and the roasted fenugreek powder. Add the onions, green chilli paste and garlic along with the tomatoes. Fry for a minute. Add the cumin-coriander powder, chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt. Add the mashed dal and bring to a boil. Garnish with coriander leaves and enjoy this hot with chapattis. Needless to say, this tastes great with rice.

Gatte ka Saag

I have spoken endlessly about my love for Rajasthani food. In my post on Mooli Moong Dal, I shared with my plate of Dal Bati Churma that S brought back from Jaipur. While a Rajasthani thali usually has Gatte Ki Kadhi, the one that he brought had Gatte Ka Saag.


I knew, at first bite, that I just had to make this dish at home. After all, once you’ve gotten past the Gattas, there’s precious little that you need to do in order to get this dish ready.


(And I have some news to share: I found Dal Bati Churma in Dilli Haat when I took my parents shopping. So now I know where to go.)


Here is the recipe I used to make Gatte ka Saag at home.


For the Gattas:

3/4 cup Bengal gram flour
1/2 tsp Chilli Powder

1 tsp Fennel seeds

1/8 tsp Ajwain

1 tbsp Curds

2 tbsp Oil

Salt to taste

For the gravy:

2 Onions, ground to a paste
1 tsp Ginger Paste
2 Tomatoes, blanched and pureed
1 tsp Oil

1/4 tsp Cumin Seeds

1 tsp Chilli Powder

½ tsp Turmeric Powder

1 tsp Coriander Powder
¼ tsp Garam Masala

Salt to taste
Coriander Leaves for garnish

For the Gattas:

Place all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and knead into a firm dough using as little water as necessary. Divide the mixture into eight 3 inch long cylinders.


Heat plenty of water in a vessel and cook the gattas for 8-10 minutes in boiling water. Drain and cut the gattas into half inch pieces.


For the gravy:


Heat oil in a pan. Add the cumin seeds. When they crackle, add the onion paste and ginger and fry for 2-3 minutes. Add the salt, coriander powder, chilli and turmeric powders and fry for a minute. Add the tomato puree and fry until the oil separates from the mixture. Add ¼ cup of water and bring the mixture to a boil. Add the cut gattas. Add the garam masala and take off the flame. Garnish with the chopped coriander.


This dish tastes great with rice and dal. I haven’t eaten it with chapattis, but I’m sure it would be lovely. Since this keeper recipe has the wonderful taste of fennel, I'm sending it to Ivy of Kopiaste as she hosts Think Spice... Think Twice this month.