Tabbouleh

Tabbouleh is a famous Middle Eastern Salad, which is prepared using bulgur wheat mixed with lots of herbs and seasoned with olive oil and lemon juice to get a very flavorful and aromatic salad.Bulgur wheat is a parboiled wheat which just needs to be soaked in water before making this salad. As bulgur wheat is not easily available in India, I used regular broken wheat which I cooked and cooled before putting it in the salad.This salad is quite filling and can replace any meal of the day.I like my salads crunchy and spicy,so I try adding lots of fresh vegetables, nuts and more pepper to them.As I used cooked broken wheat the salad was bit sticky otherwise the taste was just perfect.This is my last entry for my event,hurry up guys only two more days to send your entries.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Bulgur wheat
1 cup water approx
1 tomato,seeded and chopped
3/4 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup chopped colored peppers(optional)
1/4 cup scallions,chopped
1/4 cup peeled and chopped cucumber
2 tbsp chopped mint
2 tbsp chopped walnuts or almonds or pine nuts
5-6 olives,sliced

for dressing:
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil(EVOO)
1 tsp black pepper powder,freshly crushed
juice of 1/2 lemon
salt to taste
Method:

• Soak bulgur wheat in 1 cup of hot water for 20-30 mins.Squeeze out extra water if anything is left by draining through muslin cloth.
• In a big bowl mix chopped tomatoes,cucumber,peppers,scallions,mint,parsley,nuts and olives and mix well.Add squeezed bulgur wheat and mix well.
• In a small bowl make the dressing by mixing all the ingredients under for dressing section.Adjust the seasonings according to your spice level.
  
• Add the dressing to the salad bowl and mix everything well.Keep it refrigerated until usage.

Serve it cold with pita bread or as a meal itself.

Note: I used medium size broken wheat variety instead of bulgur wheat as it is not easily available in India,so I had to cook it for some time and let the cooked wheat cool before putting it in the salad.

This salad is my last entry which is going to participate in the 'Only' Salads event hosted by me,which is started by Pari of Foodelicious.

Sprouts Salad-Chaat Style

You might be seeing a lot of salad recipes in my blog these days,the reason is simple that I just want to add more recipes to the event hosting by me this month.This is also a opportunity for me to eat these healthy salads regularly.I had a cup of sprouts left over after making the delicious Misal pav last week and a small pack of bean sprouts that are left over which I got to make Gado Gado salad and they were also getting spoil as I could not make it on time.So I thought of adding those to the regular sprouts and make a salad which I had for my morning breakfast.As I have already posted one version of Moong Sprouts Salad in my blog I thought of making another version of it,chaat style which I love to eat with bombay puri which replaces the spoons wonderfully and are edible too.I used chorafari poori instead of Bombay puri as I had only them at that moment.There is no strict recipe for this as I do this every time according to the availability of ingredients in my pantry.I love to add either grapes or pomegranate kernels to sprouts as they pair up very nicely.

Ingredients:
1 cup mixed sprouts(I used moong,matki and bean sprouts)
1 onion,finely chopped
1 carrot,finely chopped
1 small cucumber,finely chopped
1 tomato,finely chopped
3 tbsp chopped coriander
8-10 green grapes,chopped
1 tbsp Imli chutney
1 tsp Green chutney(optional)
1/2 tsp chat masala
1/2 tsp red chili powder
juice of half lemon
fine sev to garnish
salt to taste
Bombay puri or Chorafari puri as a edible spoon to serve with

Method:

• Take sprouts,chopped vegetables in a big bowl.Add coriander to it and mix well.
• Now add Imli chutney,green chutney,salt,red chili powder,chat masala and lemon juice and mix well.Adjust the seasonings according to your taste.
• Serve it into individuals plates/bowls and garnish with coriander and fine sev.

Serve it immediately otherwise it leaves water after sometimes and make the sev soggy.

Variations:

1. You can add chopped raw mango to it.
2. You can even add two cups of puffed rice to convert it to a sprouts bhel.Adjust the seasonings accordingly.

This salad is going to participate in the 'Only' Salads event hosted by me,which is started by Pari of Foodelicious.

Red Pumpkin Yogurt Salad

Red pumpkin is one vegetable which I do not cook much as hubby does not like it,he eats it only in sambar and that is the only way I always end up making with it.When I saw this recipe in Sukham Ayu,I liked the simplicity of the salad with a typical south Indian touch and was in mind from such a long time to make it.So,this time when I brought pumpkin I saved a small piece of it to make this salad for my lunch.It is a very simple one and you can make it in a breeze,the coolness from the yogurt,the sweetness from the pumpkin and crunchiness from the onions is well balanced with salt and the heat from green chili.

Ingredients:
1 cup bite size pieces of red pumpkin
1 small red onion,finely chopped
2 tbsp chopped coriander
1 small green chili,finely chopped
2 tbsp yogurt
salt to taste

for tadka:
1 tsp oil/ghee
1/4 tsp mustard
1/2 tsp urad dal
5-6 curry leaves
a pinch of hing

Method:

• Steam the red pumpkin pieces for 4-5 mins until its tender still firm.Cool them to a room temperature.
• in a bowl,mix in the red pumpkin pieces,chopped onions,green chilies,chopped coriander,salt and slightly beaten yogurt and mix well.Keep it refrigerated for an hour.
• Meanwhile heat oil/ghee in a small pan,crackle mustard seeds,urad dal,hing and curry leaves for a minute.
• Mix in the tadka with the salad and serve it cold.

Variations:
Red pumpkin can be replaced by diced cucumber/steamed white pumpkin/Zucchini for a variation.

This salad is going to participate in the 'Only' Salads event hosted by me,which is started by Pari of Foodelicious.

Special Khara Pongal

If you have seen my earlier post you all would be knowing that this post would be about khara pongal.Khara Pongal is a speciality from karnataka which is bit different from the regular pongal in a way just that all the spices are added in the pongal so that it does not require any accompaniment to eat along with it.I mentioned the title as special khara pongal as there are few ingredients like dry coconut,coriander leaves,jeera-pepper powder which are added extra to give a khara pongal rich and special taste and makes it best suitable for the festival occasion,I have adapted this recipe partially from a cooking show.Do try out this version of khara pongal and paal payasam and I am sure that you would be happy to have such a comfortable meal combo as I did.

Ingredients:
1 cup sona masuri rice (or any regular rice)
1 cup yellow moong dal
5-6 green chillies,sliced roughly
1/2"ginger,chopped
8-10 curry leaves
3 tbsp chopped coriander
12-15 cashew nuts,chopped
1/4 cup grated dry coconut
1 tsp pepper corns,slightly crushed
1 tsp jeera-pepper powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
a pinch of hing
3 tbsp ghee
1 tbsp oil

Method:

• Slightly roast the moong dal until you get a nice aroma of it.Remove it from stove and let it cool down a bit,mix with washed rice in a pressure cooker and add 4 cups of water,a pinch of turmeric,salt and pressure cook for 4 whistles.
• In a heavy bottomed kadai heat 2 tbsp ghee and 1 tbsp oil and crackle cumin seeds,and add finely chopped ginger,cashew nuts and green chillies and fry them until they turn slightly brown.
• Add hing,curry leaves,crushed pepper corns to it and fry again.
• Now add grated dry coconut and fry until it turns slightly brown and a nice aroma comes from it.
• Add this fried mixture to the cooked rice and dal mixture and mix well.Add a cup of water roughly(add more if required to get a desired consistency),salt,turmeric powder,chopped coriander and mix well.
• Let it start bubbling then add jeera-pepper powder and mix well.At the end mix in a tbsp of ghee and remove from stove.

Serve it hot with extra ghee on top of it.As this has everything in it it does not require any side accompaniment,if you still want you can have it with coconut chutney or sambar.

Paal Payasam...my Sankranti sweet and a Reminder

I made Paal payasam and Khara pongal for this sankranti but I could not post them immediately on the festival day.We make different kinds of pongal like sweet pongal,khara pongal,paal pongal paired mixed veg and pulses sambar for sankranti to celebrate the new harvest of the year.

The only sweet which I can never think of eating is sweet pongal which is made up of jaggery,somehow because of the color or watever I hate this sweet and never developed a taste for it from childhood.During my childhood,I used to add milk and sugar to the regular pongal in a small cup and mix well and I used to eat it as sweet pongal and that was my version of sweet pongal in my childhood(do not forget to remove the pepper corns from it if you are going to try my version anytime).Sankranti is incomplete with out making sweet pongal,so I make paal payasam as an alternative to sweet pongal and even if I prepare sweet pongal I use sugar instead of jaggery to make it.

I think you all can guess now what could be my next post,yes you are correct!!! ie.,Khara Pongal.

Ingredients:
1 cup new raw rice(any variety like sona masuri,kolam etc)
7 cups full cream milk(regular one is also fine)
3/4 cups sugar,approx
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
10-12 cashew nuts,broken
7-8 saffron strands
18-20 raisins
2 tbsp ghee

Method:

• Clean and wash the rice and soak it for 10mins.
• Bring milk to a boil in a big pot on medium flame and add saffron strands and rice when milk is bubbling and stir immediately and keep in low flame.
• Keep stirring occasionally until the rice is cooked completely in milk.
• After the rice is completely cooked the milk would have reduced in its quantity too,add the sugar and let it dissolves completely.
• Mean while heat ghee in a pan and add broken cashew nuts and raisins until they turn their color and keep it aside.
• After the sugar melts add the fried dry fruits along with the ghee and cardamom powder and mix well and cook it for another 2 mins.

Serve it either hot or cold or at room temperature,it tastes best anyways.


A Reminder:
I am eagerly waiting for all your lovely entries for my first event ' Only' Salads.So friends,please send your entries in order to make my event successful.

Soya Chunks Alu Curry

Soya Nuggets is an excellent source of proteins for vegetarians and also has a meaty texture which adds the extra liking at my place.I include it in all possible ways like curries, gravies, pulav's, tikki's, pasta,manchurian, snacks etc.When I add soya nuggets to any dish,I make it extra spicy and masaledar as these soya nuggets when soaked absorb all the flavors make it more tastier.It also comes to rescue to me when I am out of vegetables or lack of time.I do it in pressure cooker which helps in saving lot of time and attention while cooking.I make it in a very similar manner like how I make alu mutter,just that I add soaked soya nuggets to it.It pairs wonderfully with rice/pulav and roti's and now let us peek how I make this curry.Ingredients:
1 cup soya nuggets
2 medium potatoes
1/2 cup fresh/frozen green peas
2 medium onions,diced
2 tsp Ginger-Garlic paste
2 big tomatoes,finely chopped
1 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp Garam masala
1/2 tsp kitchen king masala(optional)
1/2 tsp kasuri methi
2 tbsp chopped coriander
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp oil
salt to taste

for dry garam masala:
1 bayleaf
2 cloves
1/2" cinnamon
1/2 tsp jeera
a pinch of hing
2 green chillies,slit

Method:

• Soak soya nuggets in warm water for 10-12 mins.Squeeze out the extra water from it and keep it aside.
• Grind chopped onions with ginger and garlic to a rough paste.
• Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add the dry masala's one by one in the order cloves,cinnamon,jeera,bayleaf,green chili's and hing and fry until you get a nice aroma.
• Add ground onion mixture and fry until it turns brown.
• Add chopped tomatoes and fry until the oil leaves the masala.
• Now add coriander powder,chili powder,kitchen king masala,kasuri methi and salt and fry well.Add the diced potatoes and peas and fry well for 2-3 mins.
• Add the soaked and drained soya nuggets and fry again for a couple of minutes.Add approximately 2 cups of water and close the lid and pressure cook for 2 whistles.
• After the steam escapes remove the lid and add garam masala,coriander leaves and cook for 2 mins.Add lemon juice just before removing it from the stove.

Garnish with coriander and serve it hot with roti/paratha or pulav of your choice.
Note:
If you want to make it rich,add few tbsp's of fresh cream at the end to the curry.

Pav Bhaji Dosa...Mumbai Street Food!!!

Dosa is a popular South Indian snack which is famous all over India and across the world.There are many variations to the regular dosa in South Indian menu which are famous like Mysore Masala Dosa,Paper roast,set dosa,rawa dosa,spring dosa etc etc.

Dosa has got a new avatar in Khau galli's here in Mumbai,they are so innovative and got up with great fusion combinations like pav bhaji dosa, paneer chilly dosa, schezwan dosa, corn masala dosa, palak paneer dosa, Jini dosa, cheese spring dosa etc which tastes good with its own taste.Among all of them my favorites are pav bhaji dosa and Jini dosa which tastes unique and loved the way they style them up.

Pav bhaji being a favorite snack of mine will find its way in my dinner menu's atleast once in 15 days.I intentionally make more of bhaji so that I can make pav bhaji dosa for breakfast the next day.If you have not tasted this dosa before,please do not bother just believe me and try the recipe immediately.I am sure you will be very happy with the unique taste of it and enjoy it like I do.You can follow your own dosa and bhaji recipes and just follow the procedure I mentioned in making pav bhaji dosa.
Ingredients:
Dosa batter(recipe follows)
Bhaji mixture(recipe follows)
3 tbsp grated cheese(optional)
Butter,to spread
Oil
Vegetable toppings:
1/4 cup shredded cabbage
2 tbsp grated carrots
1/4 cup thinly sliced onions
1/4 cup sliced mixed bell peppers
2 tbsp sliced tomatoes,seeded
a tbsp of chopped coriander

for Dosa batter:
4 cups rice
1 cup urad dal
1 cup chana dal
a tsp of methi
salt to taste

for Bhaji:
2 cups mixed vegetables(cauliflower,potato,carrot,peas,beans,cabbage)
2 tomatoes,finely chopped
2 onions,finely chopped
1 capsicum,finely chopped
2 tsp Ginger-Garlic paste
2 tbsp pav bhaji masala
2 tbsp chopped coriander
juice of 1 lemon
2 tsp red chili powder
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp oil
salt to taste
Method:

for dosa:

• Soak rice,urad dal and chana dal, methi seeds for 5-6 hrs or overnight.
• Grind all the ingredients in a wet grinder or mixer until very smooth adding water,now add salt and grind it again to a very fine mixture.
• Ferment it for 9-10 hrs.

for Bhaji:

• Pressure cook Alu,gobi,carrots,beans,cabbage and green peas for 2 to 3 whistles.
• In a big tawa or kadai,heat a spoon of butter along with oil,fry onions till translucent,add ginger-garlic paste,capsicum and fry for a minute,add chopped tomatoes and cook till it leaves the oil.
• Add red chili powder,pav bhaji masala and add all the cooked vegetables and slightly mash the vegetables.
• Add salt and cover it cook for 2 mins,then add lemon juice,butter,corriander leaves and give a stir and take off from the flame.Keep the bhaji warm until its usage.

for making Pav Bhaji Dosa:

• Make the tawa ready for making dosa,keep the stove on medium flame and pour a ladle full of batter in the middle of the pan and spread in a circular motion to form a 9 " dosa and put a dollop of butter in the centre and pour some oil all over the edges and cover it with a lid.
• Mean while mix all the shredded vegetables cabbage,carrots,tomato,peppers and coriander.
• After it is roasted for a minute remove the lid and smear the bhaji mixture(approx 1/3 cup) all over the dosa.
• Sprinkle the shredded vegetables mixture and grated cheese all over the dosa and cover it again with lid and turn the stove on high flame and let it roast for another minute until red and crispy.
• Roll the dosa to form a roll and serve it hot with coconut chutney and sambar.

Serve the Pav bhaji dosa hot or else it will become soggy if you keep it for long.Coconut chutney and sambar is a good combination with dosa.

Steamed Baby Corn-Mango Salad

If you are from Bangalore and is a foodie,you would have definitely visited V.V puram Eat street which has a row of different kind of shops/carts ranging from starters like salad's, nippat masala,fritter's, various types of pakoda's to the main course with lot of varieties of Idly,Dosa,rotti,pav bhaji,chinese etc etc and to the desserts with Fruit salad,gulkand n Ice cream.They even make fresh hollige's and some of our community specials and don't forget to taste hot badam milk.One can get to taste the complete meal choosing according to their taste and appetite.And the most famous V.V Bakery is very near by which is famous for it congress butter bun,biscuits,khara breads,etc etc.One should visit this place only in the evenings and you can easily see the crowd in each and every shop.It would be a complete feast for all food lovers and is a great experience,so guys if you are visiting Bangalore anytime do not miss this place.

American corn salad is quite famous every where,but I got introduced to baby corn salad only at this place.I was surprised to see the list of salad's which they make fresh and serve in a span of five mins and sometimes we don't even get to eat it if it is over crowded.This recipe I got inspired truly from this place and added the ingredients according to our taste buds.When I saw suma's post on Fruit chaat I was tempted more to prepare this immediately.The sour bites of mango pieces with the crunch baby corn and the spicyness from the masala makes the salad taste perfect.Do try out the various variations I have mentioned in the salad as I could not show everything in one post.

Ingredients:
15-18 Baby corn,sliced diagonally
1 cucumber,diced to the size of baby corn pieces
3 tbsp finely chopped raw mango
1 tsp butter

for the dressing:
a handful of mint leaves
a handful of coriander leaves
1 tbsp chopped raw mango
a big green chili
1 tsp lemon juice
salt to taste

Method:

• Steam the baby corn pieces for 2-3 mins.They should be crunchy not completely cooked.
  
• Mix in the butter to the baby corn pieces immediately when the baby corn slices r hot and let them coat completely.
• Prepare a coarse paste of mint leaves,coriander leaves,raw mango,green chili,lemon juice and salt in a mixer or a mortar and pestle.
• Mix in the diced cucumber to the buttered baby corn and also add the paste and stir in quickly with a ladle.

Serve it immediately when the baby corn is still warm.

Note:

1. You can even add pepper to it if you want it bit more hot n spicy.It also gives a different flavor.
2. You can replace pine apple instead of mango or you can even use the combination of both.
3. You can just steam the baby corn and stir in butter,salt and pepper immediately when it is hot and serve again immediately.That is also a nice combination.
4. You can even add chat masala,salt and butter to the steamed baby corn.
5. You can replace baby corn with steamed corn or grilled corn.
   

This salad is going to participate in the "Only Salad's" event hosted by me,which is started by Pari of Foodelicious.

Basundi with extra kick,Orange Basundi...New Year Special!!!

Happy New Year to you all!!
I hope every one had a fantastic start to the new year.What better way to start the new year other than indulging sweets for the wonderful start.
Basundi used to be very frequent at our place when we were young as we were fond of very few sweets and basundi was one among them.Basundi is prepared by reducing the milk and sweetened and topped with loads of nuts which makes the basundi tasty in each and every bite.Even though the process is bit time consuming,it is very easy to make and the end product is all worth the effort we put in making it.I got introduced to so many different flavors of basundi in Mumbai,the addition of fruits makes it even more interesting.Try out the few variations to the regular basundi and enjoy the new flavor.

Ingredients:
1 litre Full Cream milk
1/2 cup sugar(approx)
1/4 tsp Elaichi powder
a few saffron strands,soaked in warm milk(1 tsp)
2 tbsp slivered almonds
1 tbsp slivered pistachios
1 tbsp charoli/chironji seeds

Method:

• Bring milk to a boil,simmer it and boil until the milk thickens and reduces to half and it coats the back of the spoon.After reducing the flame,try to stir the milk regularly until you get a thick creamy milk.My mom used to drop a small ceramic mold specially meant for this purpose into the reduced milk,it helps the milk not to spill over.
  
• Add sugar and boil until it melts completely.Add the saffron strands milk and cardamom powder and mix well.
• Switch off the flame and let the milk cools down completely.
• Slightly roast the slivered almonds,pistachios and charoli seeds and add this to the reduced milk mixture and keep it refrigerated.
  

Serve it cold with extra slivered almonds,pistachios and charoli seeds on top.

Note:

1. You can make it still richer by replacing sugar with condensed milk.The addition of condensed milk also adds a distinct flavor to it.
2. One can be innovative and can make basundi more interesting by adding fruits like oranges,custard apple,mango and apple to it.Each fruit adds a distinguish flavor to basundi and the custard apple basundi tastes the best.
   
3. In order to make custard apple basundi,remove the seeds from the pulp and mix it with basundi and serve it cold.
   
4. To make Apple Basundi,peel the skin of apple and grate it and mix with cold basundi and serve it cold.
5. To make Mango basundi,mix in the chunky mango pulp with basundi and serve it cold.
   
6. You can even experiment with strawberry.Add strawberry crush with the chopped fresh strawberries to basundi and serve it cold.
   

Orange Basundi:

Ingredients:
1 cup Basundi(prepared using the above process)
1 sweet orange
1 tbsp sugar

Method:

• Prepare Basundi using the above procedure and keep it refrigerated.
• Remove the pith and seeds of the orange and cut into small segments.Add sugar to it and mix well and keep this in the refrigerator until its usage.
• While serving it,mix the basundi mixture well with the chopped orange segments and serve immediately.

A Reminder:
I am eagerly waiting for all your lovely entries for my first event " Only Salad's".So friends,please send your entries in order to make my event successful.