Beetroot rice and Roast potatoes

The change of weather has made me too lethargic ( by laziness) and I have been enjoying the downpour with books and coffee. Reading has held me from venturing into the kitchen for the past few days and I am still under its strong grip. When a book is too engrossing then everything else becomes less interesting, until the final pages are read, while casting aside the unfinished chores. They can wait, can’t they?  Right now I am under such a spell with a few good books in hand to finish, before I tune in to the rhapsody of my kitchen.

Beatroot is the least favourite vegetable of my folks,  next to bitter gourd. Two opposite tastes, sweet and bitter, but treated with the same indifference and hate. But the following method of cooking beetroot, turned their indifference to, acceptance and liking to the vegetable, to my surprise. Initially, when I tried as a stir fry, it was appreciated and on another time, tried mixing the same with rice and packed for lunch with a drizzle of ghee, as I said beetroot was finally accepted and it won’t be long before it tires them out or me for that matter and sooner or later I have to come up with a new recipe to cook beetroot and impress them.
Beetroot Rice
Ingredients
Parboiled rice                 1 cup
Beetroot                          300 g ( grated)
Onion                               1
Ginger garlic paste        1tsp
Chilly powder                 1 1/4 tsp
Turmeric powder           1/4 tsp
Mint leaves                     1tbsp
Cooked green peas        1/2 cup
Cardamom                      2
Cloves                              2
Cinnamon                       2 small pieces
Fennel 1/4 tsp
Oil 1tbsp

Cook the rice, spread it on a plate and let it cool.
Heat oil in a pan, add the cardamom, cloves, cinnamon,fennel and when it begins to change colour, add the sliced onion and stir until it is cooked.
Add in the ginger garlic paste, stir for a few seconds, add in the grated beetroot, turmeric powder, chillypowder, salt, stir well, close the pan and cook on low heat.
When the vegetable is cooked, stir on medium heat to remove any excess liquid, add in the chopped mint leaves, stir.
Add the vegetable mixture to the rice and mix well. Toss in the cooked green peas, mix well and serve with roast potatoes.
Note:
I soaked some dry peas overnight and cooked them with little salt and a pinch of turmeric powder.
Can serve this as a stir fry ( porial ) also (skip the rice ).
Can avoid cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and use only fennel, if desired for a change and still it will be good.
 Two important ingredients that changes the taste of this stir fry are the ginger garlic paste and mint leaves, so make sure these two are present.

Roast Potatoes
Potatoes             500 g
Garlic                 4 - 5 cloves
Olive oil             1- 2 tbsp
Mixed spices      2 tsp
Chilly flakes       1 tsp
Salt
Rinse the potatoes in water well, cut into wedges. Place it on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil, spices, chilly flakes, salt, some chilly powder if desired and bake at 180*c for about 30 - 40 minutes.

Kaaramani Poriyal - Yard long beans stir fry

                                   My grandmother’s style of cooking included a lot of coconut, as the region she came from uses a large quantity of coconut in their cuisine, like Avial, Sodhi, Eriseri, Theeyal, very similar to Kerala cuisine. Mostly all the vegetables she cooked had coconut and the following method was applied to cook vegetables like, cabbage, beans, cluster beans and snake gourd.  A very simple method, to make an appetising vegetable.

Ingredients
Yard long bean           250 gms
Onion                           1
Coconut                       1 1/2 tbsp
Red chilly                    2
Cumin                          1/2 tsp
Mustard + urad dal   1tsp
Turmeric powder       1/4 tsp
Oil                                 2tsp

Combine coconut, red chilly, cumin and blend to make a coarse mixture, without adding water.
Heat oil in a pan, add the mustard + urad dal, few curry leaves and when it begins to pop, add in chopped onion and saute for a few seconds just until it is soft.
Add in the chopped yard long beans, turmeric powder, mix well, close the pan and cook.
When it is almost cooked, add in the ground coconut mixture and stir.
Add salt, stir for a minute or two and serve with rice.

Paneer and Corn Pizza - Indian style

A little more than a decade ago, the craze for chinese cuisine spread like virus among the Indians. The sizzling sound and the aroma of rice and noodles being tossed in a big, black, wok, became a constant feature in eateries on almost every busy street, mobile vans selling manchurians coated with a thick red sauce and fried chicken nuggets floating in sweet and sour liquids, like hot cakes, almost till midnight. Things have changed and now pizza and macaroni have replaced many indian menus, along with noodles. Cheese and Italian spices have become a part of the grocery list. Restaurants strike a winning accord with kids by providing mini sized pizzas in buffet and don’t be surprised if you are served pasta  for dinner in an Indian friends house. As I said, this is a decade to get familiarised with parmigiano, Rissoto, Lasagna, basil and off course, ciao.
Paneer has become a definite part of the indian cuisine and blending this with the italian pizza makes it an excellent indianized version of the italian delicacy, with a twist.

Ingredients 
Pizza base                          same as given for Pizza margarita
Yellow capsicum              1 large
Red capsicum                    1 large
Sweet corn kernels          1 cup
Paneer                               200g
Curd                                   2 tbsp
Chilly powder                   2 tsp
Garam masala powder    1/2 tsp
Cumin powder                  1/4 tsp
Tomato sauce                    1/2 to 3/4 cup
Mozzarella                         200g
Chilly flakes
Salt
Olive oil
Oil
Mixed herbs ( oregano, thyme, basil,)

Cut capsicums into small pieces.
Steam cook two sweet corns and remove the kernels from the cob.
Cut paneer into small cubes.
Beat the curd well, add in chilly powder, garam masala powder, cumin powder, salt and mix well.
Add in the paneer cubes and toss well and let it marinate in the masala for about an hour or so.
Heat two tsps of oil in  a sauce pan and fry the paneer only for a few minutes, just until the masala sticks to the paneer and need not fry till golden brown.
Spread the pizza dough to a slightly thick circle, prick with a fork throughout the surface, spread one or two tbsp of tomato sauce, arrange a few toasted paneer pieces, capsicum pieces, sprinkle some steam cooked corn and slices of mozzarella  .
Sprinkle the spices, chilly flakes, each about half a tsp, drizzle some olive oil, or garlic infused oil if desired and bake in a preheated oven at 250*c for about 10 - 13 minutes.

Masala Dosai and Coconut chutney

                                         Masala Dosai is an iconic food of the South Indian cuisine and usually served with a variety of chutneys, ranging from Tomato chutney, mint chutney, coconut chutney, sambhar and Chilly powder. I would have loved to make all of those, but, considering the fact that there were only two people to eat breakfast, restricted to just one, yet the best chutney to be served with Dosai/Masala Dosai.
To get a better taste of the regional food, I guess it is best to dine in the region where the food is popular and feel the difference. Having said that, our masala dosai has a lot of fans which includes not only the locals but also many tourists. Fall in love with these crisp indian crepes, like we do.

Ingredients
Rice               2cups ( parboiled rice)
Urad dal        1 cup
Fenugreek     1tsp
Salt

Combine rice and fenugreek seeds, rinse well and soak for 2 hours.
Rinse urad dal and soak it 30 to 60 minutes.
Grind the soaked urad dal to a fine paste, transfer to a bowl, grind the rice to a slightly coarse paste . Combine the two, add salt, mix well  and let it ferment for 8 to 10 hours.
Heat a tawa add a ladle full of the batter and spread to make a thin circle, drizzle 2tsp of oil around the doasai, when it turns golden brown, place a good dollop of the potato filling in the centre and close the dosai. Transfer the dosai to a plate and serve with Chutney and Sambhar.

Potato filling
Potato                           1/4 k
Onion                            1 large
Green chillies              2
Oil                                 2 tsp
Mustard + urad dal    1 tsp
Turmeric powder       1/2 tsp
Curry leaves
Salt

Rinse the potatoes well in water, cut into half and pressure cook for 10 minutes with little salt and enough water.
Heat oil in a pan, add the mustard + urad dal, curry leaves.
Add the sliced onion, saute until it is soft and pink, add in the turmeric powder, saute for few seconds. Add in the cooked and slightly mashed potatoes, 1/2 cup of water, salt and stir until the mixture thickens.

Coconut chutney or otherwise called Ghetty chutney, is a thick chutney,  which can be diluted by adding water if desired, but traditionally, as the name indicates it has to be thick when served with idly, dosai or adai.
Coconut  1/2 shell ( grated)
Green chillies 2
Tamarind a tiny pinch
Salt
Combine everything and blend to a fine paste. Temper the chutney with mustard+urad dal, curry leaves in a tsp of oil.
Note:
Make sure to get the right consistency by adding just enough water to make the dosai. Shouldn’t be too thin or too thick.
To get a crisp dosai, use a ladle with a flat bottom.
If the dosai is made thin, the upper side of the dosai also gets cooked while it is getting brown on the other side, so it is not necessary to flip it over.
To prevent the dosai from sticking to the tawa,  cut an onion into two halves, smear the cut side of the onion with some oil and rub it on the tawa, before pouring the batter.

Nanjundan keerai/Lachakkottai keerai - Lettuce tree leaves stir fry

Nanjundan/Nachukottai/Lachakkottai - so many names, but a very commonly grown plant, that many do not know that it is edible. This plant is grown as an ornamental plant in many houses, which is actually a tree with luscious green leaves. Apparently, it helps in lowering the blood glucose level and arthritis pain, I do not how much of it is true, but I love this greens for its sweet taste and again this is also one of my mother’s recipe. These leaves will not be sold in the market, as most of them grow the plant at home, though mostly for decorative purpose.

Ingredients
Lettuce tree leaves   1 bunch (30 - 40 leaves)
Onion                          1
Garlic                          2 cloves
Pepper powder          1 tsp
Oil                                1  1/2 tsp
Salt

Remove and discard the central vein or the mid rib from each and every leaf( as seen in the picture).    Chop the leaves finely.
Heat oil in a pan, add the garlic and the chopped onion.
When the onion turns to a nice pink colour, add the chopped greens, salt, stir and cook.
When done, add the pepper powder, mix well and serve with rice or roti.

      A picture of the tree from my parent's garden

Mango Flognarde

                            The onset of monsoon season has finally put an end to the mangoes and the hot, dry climate in Chennai. Having grown up in Salem, the hometown of malgova mangoes,  there has never been a year that passed by without mangoes. So many varieties, so many tastes. Ever since the markets saw the arrival of mangoes, the past five or six months have been days of mango mania for me with the abundance of the fruit from Salem (courtesy of my dad) and from here, still we are not tired of eating it.

Now that the season has come to an end, I decided to make mango flognarde, a french dessert, reluctantly, from the last batch of mangoes I had. Reluctantly, because I usually prefer eating it as a fruit and never wished to cook with it, but couldn’t resist this recipe, which was noted a long time back from flagrantedelicia, full of gorgeous recipes and wonderful photographs. The mango flognarde, was too good to stop eating and the fantastic combination of coconut milk and mangoes works like magic and makes this flognarde a beautiful dessert.  I have halved the recipe and made slight changes to the original. Tastes great when served chilled.

Ingredients
Flour                    30 g
Sugar                    45 g
Butter                   1 whole tsp (melted)
Coconut milk      125 ml
Egg                       1 large
Mango diced       200 g ( 2-3 mangoes)
Icing sugar           to sprinkle

Method
Preheat the oven at 180*c
Arrange the mango cubes in a greased pan. ( Just enough mangoes to cover the bottom of the pan )
Combine flour and sugar while adding coconut milk and melted butter.
Add in the whisked egg, stirring until the mixture is uniformly mixed.
Pour the batter over the mangoes.
Bake for 45 minutes.
When cool, sprinkle icing sugar and serve chilled.

Butter beans Masala

Butter beans are a good source of fibre and Iron. If you can get fresh beans, well and good, if not use the dry beans, which is always available throughout the year, unlike the fresh ones. Because of its slow digesting property, it is ideal for those who are on diet, as it  keeps the stomach full for  a long time. This spicy masala goes well with bread, roti, dosai and even curd rice.

Ingredients

Butter beans                  1/2 cup (dry)

Onion                              1

Tomato                           2

Ginger                             1 inch piece

Garlic                              1 clove

Turmeric powder          1/4 tsp

Chilly powder                1 1/2 tsp

Lemon juice                   1/4 - 1/2 tsp

Oil                                    1 tbsp

Cinnamon                       1

Cloves                             2

Cardamom                     1

Curry leaves                   few

Coriander leaves

Method

Soak the dry beans for 5 hours and cook with 1/2 tsp of salt and a pinch of turmeric powder, with enough water in a pressure cooker for about 6 minutes.

Heat oil in a pan, add the cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and curry leaves.

Add the sliced onion and saute’ until cooked. 

Add the chopped tomatoes, stir, cover the pan and cook until soft.

Add the ginger garlic paste and stir.

Add the turmeric powder, chilly powder, salt for the masala and stir. Cover and cook on low heat until the oil separates.

Drain the water from the cooked butter beans and add it to the masala.

Stir well, add the coriander leaves and the lemon juice and stir.

Serve hot with roti, dosai, bread or curd rice.