Mini Cauliflower and Cheese Fritattas

A year and a half ago, one of my namesakes posted this recipe on her blog. I wanted to try them instantly. Instant, in this case, turned out to be 18 months or so. Last Saturday, I had everything I needed. Well almost. So, I changed the recipe a bit and they turned out great. I know I will make these often and the next time around, I shall take pictures as they come out of the oven.


While these would taste great on their own, we had them with Zingo. (I received sauce samples from DelMonte long before Zingo and Twango were released into the market and they've both been great hits at home, with the two of us as well as every party we've had.)

For the fritattas:

4 Eggs
1/4 cup Cheese, grated
1 Onion, chopped finely
1/4 cup Cauliflower, grated or chopped finely
1 tsp Southwest Spice Blend (Tortilla Soup Seasoning)
1/8 cup Milk
1 tsp Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste


Pre-heat the oven to 350F. Grease the mufifn trays.

Heat the oil in a pan and fry the onions until golden brown. Add the grated cauliflower and the spice blend. Fry for a minute and add the salt and pepper. Add about a teaspoon or two of water and cover and cook the mixture. After about 2-3 minutes, remove the lid and allow the water to evaporate.

Beat the eggs. Add the milk and beat again. Blend in the cheese and the cauliflower mixture.

Pour into the muffin trays and bake for 15 minutes.

I had some left over pasta which I also threw in along with the cauliflower. We loved every bite of these fritattas and I can't wait to make them again. Thanks Arundathi.

Batata Song (Saung)

This has to be one of the most popular konkani dishes to have been invented. Amma made it very often when we were growing up and on weekends, we would have a meal of rice, dali-saar and batata song. I can't say it is my favourite dish, but I do love it.

Amma makes a slightly different version which has coconut in it, but I tried this minus the coconut. Amma added coconut to reduce the spice quotient. I have to save my coconut reserves for dishes that absolutely need the sweet white meat. I tried the version with coconut many years ago and I made this verson recently. I always have tamarind paste at hand and I also have a bottle of red chilli paste. So, I didn't even have to grind my "massol". After having made the mushroom version of this dish, I am glad I made the original.

4 Potatoes, cooked, peeled and diced

4 Onions, sliced

1 tbsp Tamarind Paste

2 tsp Red Chilli Paste

1 tbsp Oil

Salt to taste

Heat the oil in a kadhai. Add the onions and fry for 5-10 minutes, until the onions are evenly browned. Add the tamarind and chilli pastes. After a couple of minutes, add the potatoes and salt. Add a little water. Cover and cook for a few minutes. Remove the lid and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Serve this with some rice and dali-saar. If you grew up with this, there can be no denying the "all is well with the world" feeling that will come over you with every mouthful.

Chocolate Walnut Cake

Baking! Everytime I start to bake, I wonder why I don't bake more often. I'd love to experiment with flavours and try new cakes. But I do have a waist at this moment and I'd like to continue to have it in my possession. In the last couple of weeks, I have been baking a cake for every occasion, big or small. I baked a banana nut loaf to take to a friend's place for breakfast, a carrot cake last week when some friends invited us over for lunch, a banana raisin loaf when another friend had us over. It seems to be the simplest thing to carry with us and it is also the most appreciated.

While I have made chocolate walnut brownies and muffins, I had never tried to make a cake with this combination. I was tempted to try and I was very happy with the result. I got two 6 x 6 cakes from this mixture. I frosted one with some readymade Pillsbury chocolate cake icing and multicoloured sprinkles and I left the other alone. Both cakes were delicious. I made sure I shared them with friends.

3/4 cup Flour

1/6 cup Cocoa Powder
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 cup Sugar
a Pinch Salt
1/4 cup Oil
1 Egg
1/2 cup Milk
1/2 tsp Vanilla
1/3 cup Walnuts, chopped and toasted
 
 

Prepare two 6x6" square or one 8" round cake tin by greasing and flouring them.

 

Preheat the oven to 350F (180C).

 

Beat the egg in a large bowl. Add the oil, milk, sugar and vanilla. Beat again. Sift the remaining dry ingredients together and add them to the liquid mixture. Fold in the walnuts.

 

Pour the batter into the prepared tin(s) and bake for 30 minutes or until a knife inserted into the cake comes out clean.

 

Cool on a wire rack and cut into slices. Enjoy with a cup of coffee or tea.

 

Cakes and birthdays go hand in hand. Here's wishing my dear brother H a very happy birthday!

Rum and Raisin Banana Cake

These days, I'm on a high. There are lots of things happening, lots of good things. I celebrated two very important milestones this weekend and it is time for the third. All of you know that I started this blog on a holiday we had about two days after I joined my “new” place of work. I completed three years with the company and that is a first for me. In one of the jobs I’d held earlier, I switched jobs before I completed three years. So it was special. 


There was also this other plan of mine which, with some planning, fructified about 8-10 years ahead of schedule. So, we had to celebrate both these events. What better way to celebrate anything than to go to Earth and let everyone there just pamper us. And that is exactly what we did.


Close on the heels of these two milestones, on this quiet Sunday afternoon, my dearly beloved, The Singing Chef, turned T-H-R-E-E.


While I’ve not paid as much attention to this blog in recent times, I think the nurturing it received in the initial years is what keeps it going. Year 3 had me meeting the original inspiration behind this blog, Nandita, for the first time. It was a very short visit, but one that had been pending for so long that even the half an hour felt worth the effort. It was in this year that my namesake, Arundati and her husband came and stayed with us. We got along like a house on fire, went shopping, cooked meals and did all those things that one does when friends come over. Including hours and hours of chatting. I met Sra in the comfort of my own home in Chennai and have received foodie gifts, including a whole stash of parchment paper from Deeba.


In Year 3, I got my first cheque from Adsense. Like the small cherry on top of your sundae, there was some monetary gain. But the real happiness still comes from the friends I’ve gained. From the adulation this blog receives. From the thrill that comes out of people cooking from this blog and sharing pictures of the food with me. From almost unknown people telling me that they scan my space before deciding what to cook for dinner. And for all this, I’m more thankful than ever.


It is thanks to all of you that I’m even blogging about a third birthday. So, please come and have a slice of this yummy Rum and Raisin Cake.




1 cup Flour
3/4 cup Wheat Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
¼ tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
3/4 cup Brown Sugar
2/3 cup Raisins (soaked overnight in dark rum)
3-4 Bananas (overripe), peeled
1/3 cup Oil
2 Eggs
Oil and flour for lining and dusting




Heat the oven to 350F. Grease and dust a cake tin. (I used two 6 x 6 tins)


Sift the dry ingredients together.


Combine the bananas, eggs, oil and brown sugar in a bowl. Using an electric mixer, blend all these to a rough paste. Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients and add the raisins. Mix well and pour into the prepared cake tin.


Bake for 35-40 minutes (or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean). Cool on a rack for a few minutes.


You'll find that a little sweetness goes a long way. Thank you - each and every one of you.

Kadgye Sukke

I'm rediscovering traditional cooking. I shied away from traditional cooking for a long time because I wanted to break away from the ordinary. After years of having broken away, it appears as though traditional food is the change I need from my routine.

And I'm also rediscovering sukke, as it turns out. I can't seem to have enough of this preparation. While I tried it with different vegetables earlier, I made it this time around with just one vegetable: raw jackfruit. I think this is the best type of sukke I have eaten and that sukke is the best way to eat raw jackfruit. I know I will make this often.

1/4 kg Raw Jackfruit, peeled

1/2 tsp Urad Dal

1/2 tsp Fenugreek Seeds

1/2 tsp Coriander Seeds
1 tsp Oil
1/4 cup Coconut
3-4 Red Chillies
1 tbsp Tamarind Paste
1/4 tsp Turmeric
Salt to taste




For the tempering:


1 tsp Oil
1/4 tsp Mustard Seeds
1/4 tsp Asafoetida
7-8 Curry Leaves




Cut the jackfruit into pieces slightly large pieces. Pressure cook with a little salt for 1-2 whistles.

Heat the oil and fry the fenugreek seeds and the coriander seeds for a minute. Grind this along with the turmeric, tamarind, coconut and red chillies to a somewhat fine paste. Add this paste to the cooked vegetables and add salt to taste. Cook for 4-5 minutes.

Heat the teaspoon of oil for the tempering in a frying ladle. Add the mustard and the asafoetida. When the mustard splutters, add the curry leaves. Add this tempering to the vegetable mixture. Serve hot with rice and dali-saar.

Tamarind Sevai

When we were growing up, there was no concept of "tiffin". Amma says that we were always too impatient to wait for her to make anything. We'd have a glass of milk after school and rush out to play, only to come back in time for dinner. Sometimes, the traditional "tiffin" items would be served at dinner time. Those were nights to look forward to.

Since I am still not in the habit of making an evening "tiffin", I try and make these at breakfast. They add variety to my mornings and are quite easy to prepare. Need I say more?

I tried making this rice sevai with the puliyodarai twist sometime ago. I really enjoyed the dish. It was as tasty as it was inviting.

1 cup Rice Sevai, prepared according to instructions on the pack

1 tbsp Gingelly (Til/Sesame) Oil

¼ tsp Mustard Seeds
¼ tsp Asafoetida
7-8 Curry Leaves
½ tsp Urad Dal
½ tsp Chana Dal
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
¼ cup Peanuts
2 tbsp Tamarind Paste
3-4 Red Chillies
Salt to taste

Heat the oil in a kadhai and add the urad dal, chana dal, mustard seeds and asafoetida. When the mustard splutters, add the red chillies, curry leaves and peanuts. Fry for a couple of minutes. Add the turmeric powder and the tamarind paste. Add about ½ a cup of water and bring the mixture to a boil. Add salt and when the mixture thickens to about half the original volume, stir in the rice sevai and take off the flame immediately.

Serve with some appalams or crisps. This recipe is good for two people as a breakfast dish or as a snack.

Carrot-Chayote Squash Kootu

As you've all noticed, I've gone traditional. I am enjoying picking Amma's brains of dishes that she used to make when we (my brother and I) were children. I'm enjoying recreating those dishes at home. I find that when I grind a masala for a dish that Amma's just finished telling me about on the phone, the aroma that hits my nose as soon as I open the mixer jar transports me right back to my childhood. When I get ready to eat, if my dish tastes just like what Amma used to make, then I'm all set for a trip down memory lane all through my meal.

This kootu featured rather regularly on Amma's weekly menu. While I didn't think much of it then, I'm sort of hooked now and I must say, this features quite regularly in my kitchen too.

1/2 cup Chayote Squash, peeled and diced

1/2 cup Carrot, peeled and diced

1/2 cup Moong Dal
2 tsp Sambar Powder
2 tbsp Coconut, scraped
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
1 tsp Urad Dal
1-2 Green chillies, slit
1 tsp Oil
1/4 tsp Asafoetida
Salt to taste




For the Tempering:


1/2 tsp Oil
1/2 tsp Urad Dal
7-8 Curry Leaves

Pressure cook the diced carrot and chayote squash along with the moong dal and the sambar powder.

Heat the oil in a frying ladle and add the urad dal. Fry till the dal turns golden brown. Add the slit green chillies. Grind this along with the cumin seeds and the coconut. Add this paste to the chowchow-carrot-moong dal mixture along with the salt. Add the asafoetida and mix well.

For the tempering, heat the oil in the frying ladle and add the urad dal and curry leaves. Add this to the dish and serve hot with steamed rice.

A very traditional dish to celebrate a festival. Wishing all of you a very happy new year. Iniya Puthandu Nalvazhthukkal.