Chhole Masala

                     Chhole Masala is a protein packed curry from the northern region of India. The beans are cooked in a tangy curry with onions and garlic. There are many variations and methods to make this curry. Here is the recipe on how I like it. So do try and leave a comment on how you like it.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups dry Garbanzo Beans (Chhole or Chickpeas)
• 1/2 cup finely chopped Onions
• 2 finely chopped Tomatoes
• 2 tsp Red chili-garlic paste
• 2 tsp Turmeric powder
• 4 tsp Red Chili powder
• 2 tsp Coriander-Cumin powder
• 2 tsp Chhole Masala (I used Everest Chhole masala)
• 1 tsp Amchur powder (Dry Mango powder)
• 2 tsp Cumin seeds
• 3-4 Cloves
• 1 Cinnamon stick
• 2 dry Red Chilies
• Cilantro to garnish
• A pinch of Asafoetida
• Salt to taste

Instructions:

• Wash and soak the beans for 6-8 hours or overnight in cold water.
• Cook the beans in the pressure cooker. It should take 3-4 whistles or around 10-12 minutes. If you don't have a pressure cooker, you can cook in open pan. It will take around 40-45 minutes or cook until the beans are soft to bite.
• Now heat some oil in a pan. Add asafoetida and cumin seeds along with cloves and cinnamon.

• Once the seeds start to crackle and the spices are fragrant, add the onions.

• Saute the onions till they are translucent and then add the tomatoes.

• Add all the spices (salt, chili powder, turmeric powder, coriander cumin powder, chhole masala and amchur powder) and mix it well.

• Add a cup of water and mix. Now add the cooked beans and mix well.

• Add another 2 cups of water, and cover with a lid and let it simmer for 10 minutes or till the gravy thickens. I like to crush some of the beans with back of the spoon to thicken the gravy.
• Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with Puris, Roti, Naan or rice. 

Schezwan Sauce

               Today I am back to blogging after a really long time and posting a really simple, but a versatile sauce recipe. Schezwan Sauce is widely used in Indo-Chinese cuisine, it has a very unique flavor and can enhance any dish. It is a blend of  mainly red chilies, garlic and ginger. It is a simple sauce with minimal ingredients and very easy to make.
             
               There are a variety of red chilies available in the market, you can choose to use any of them depending on your preference, and how spicy you want it to be. My personal preference is a combination of some fresh peppers and some dried chilies. This sauce can be used for making noodles, manchurian, fried rice or as a simple stir fry sauce too for Asian dishes.

Here is my version for this simple, yet delicious Schezwan sauce recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup red chili paste
• 12-15 finely chopped garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup finely chopped Onions
• 2 tbsp finely chopped ginger
• 2 tsp white Vinegar 
• 1 tsp Soy sauce
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 1 tsp Black pepper
• Salt to taste
• 2 tbsp Oil

Instructions:

•  For the red Chili paste, I used a combination of fresh red jalapenos, dry red Kashmiri chilies, and dry Thai chilies.
• Soak the chilies in hot water for 30 minutes. Then drain the chilies, de-seed them and grind them to a smooth paste. Add little water, if needed, while grinding. Keep the paste aside.

• Heat the oil in the pan.
• Add the garlic and ginger. Saute them until the raw smell of the garlic goes away. 

• Make sure the garlic is not brown.

• Now add the onions. Saute the onions until they are translucent.

• Then add the chili paste. Saute the paste for 3-4 minutes or until the oil separates from the side.

• Now add the soy sauce, vinegar, salt, black pepper, sugar and 1/2 cup water and mix it well.

• Let it cook for another 5-6 minutes, until the sauce thickens.

• Once it is cooled, store it an air-tight container. The sauce will stay good for about 3 weeks in the refrigerator.

• If you want to store it for a longer time, you can also freeze the sauce
• I generally keep a small container in refrigerator for daily use and freeze the rest 

Artichoke Risotto

                Risotto is a rice dish from northern Italy, which is traditionally cooked in a broth to a creamy consistency. This is the most common style of cooking rice in Italy. The rice variety generally used are the short grain white rice, which can absorb liquids and release starch, hence making nice creamy risottos. The primary variety used is Arborio rice which is high in starch and makes good risottos.
               Risotto can be made in various ways, with different vegetables, wines, broths, cheeses etc. Here is one variation, Artichoke Risotto.

Ingredients;

• 1 cup Arborio rice
• 3 cups Vegetable broth
• 1 cup Artichoke hearts
• 1/4 cup Sun-dried tomatoes
• 1/2 cup finely chopped Onions
• 2 tbsp Pine nuts
• 2 Garlic cloves sliced
• 1 tsp lime zest
• 2 tsp Olive oil
• Salt to taste
• 1 tsp black pepper
• Dried Parsley (optional)

Instructions:

• Take a medium pan, roast the pine nuts for 3-4 minutes on medium heat and keep it aside.
• Heat some olive oil in the same pan. Add the garlic and stir it till it golden brown.

• Now add the onions and salt. Cook the onions till they are translucent.

• Then add the Arborio rice and stir it properly. Make sure all the rice kernels are coated with oil.

• Cook the rice for 2-3 minutes.
• In the meantime, heat the vegetable broth in another pan on medium heat.
• Once the rice is sizzling, start adding the vegetable broth, one cup at a time.
• After the first cup of broth is absorbed, add the next cup.
• Be sure to stir frequently between additions.
• Continue adding the broth in this way, until the rice fully cooked. It should take around 18-20 minutes.

• The risotto should be loose. If it is too dry, you can add a bit more broth.
• Once the risotto is almost done, stir in the pine nuts, artichoke hearts and sundried tomatoes.

• Finally, add the lime zest and black pepper and give a stir lightly.

• Garnish with little parsley and serve hot.

Cauliflower soup

      
              I am finally back to my blog after a long time. It has been a crazy summer. I took 2 big vacations this summer, first to see my family in India and then an awesome 10 days vacation in Peru. I will post about Peru some other time.
              Today, I am bringing a simple, yet healthy tasty soup recipe. It is a very simple recipe with minimal ingredients. So lets make some Cauliflower soup.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium chopped Cauliflower
• 1/2 cup chopped Onions 
• 1/2 cup chopped Green Bell Peppers
• 1 tbsp chopped Parsley
• 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
• 1/2 tsp black pepper powder
• 2 tsp Thyme leaves
• 2-3 minced Garlic cloves
• 2 tbsp Olive Oil
• Salt to taste

Instructions: 

• Heat the olive oil in a pan. Add the cumin seeds. 
• Once the cumin seeds start to crackle, add the garlic and stir it till it golden brown
• Now add the onions and cook them till they are translucent.
• Then add the bell peppers and mix them well
• Now add the cauliflower florets and about 4-5 cups of water. 
• Then add parsley, thyme, salt and pepper and mix it well

• Let it cook until cauliflower is tender, about 15-20 minutes.
• Now, transfer the mixture to a blender and puree it. Take care while handling the hot mixture.
• Return the puree to the pan and let it simmer for another 2-3 minutes

• Garnish with some parsley and serve hot

Vegan Iron Chef 2015

        

                  Last week, I participated in SF Vegan Iron Chef 2015 held in San Francisco by Karine Brighten events. The experience was amazing, and I learned a lot out of it. The theme this year was handheld foods and the competition was between home chefs and professional chefs. I reached the final round after winning the first round against pro Chef Maria. 

                In the first round, we were suppose to make Tacos. So, I decided to do my favorite, a fusion Taco. Both Indian and Mexican cuisines are so varied and rich in flavors. And the spices used in both cuisines are similar to each other. So I can say fusion of these cuisines is like a heaven for a spice enthusiast like myself. 

                 For the final round, we had 20 minutes to make the fresh raw spring rolls using Jicama, Hodo Soy Yuba noodles and Mango. That was a nerve wracking and stressful round, especially because I had never used many of the ingredients nor made raw spring rolls. Although, I must say it was a great experience and was happy I could come up with fresh and flavorful spring rolls.  The spring rolls made by my competitor, chef Kevin, were stunning. Unfortunately I didn't get to try them, but they looked amazing.

Here are some of the pics from the event. Pictures by Colleen Holland, cofounder of VegNews, who was also one of the judges for the event.

 

I will post the recipes for the tacos as well as the spring rolls soon.

Mocha Shortbread Cookies

                Happy Valentines day, everyone! As mentioned before, my husband is very fond of sweets and desserts. We are also big fans of coffee and love trying coffee from different places and all kinds of coffee beans and roast. So for this occasion, I thought to combine the top two favorites and made some chocolate coffee aka Mocha shortbread cookies. Hope you all enjoy and a sweet day!

Ingredients:

• 2 cup All purpose flour (Maida)
• 3/4 cup softened Butter (Can be replaced with Vegan Butter)
• 1/2 cup confectioners or powdered Sugar
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup mini Chocolate Chips
• 2 Espresso shots or 2 tbsp Instant Coffee powder

Instructions:

• Mix the melted butter and sugar in a large bowl. You can replace the powdered sugar with granulated sugar or brown sugar depending on one's preference.
• Now add the Vanilla extract and beat at medium speed till it is creamy. If you don't have a beater, stir it thoroughly 
• Now add the chocolate chips and coffee and stir it thoroughly.
• Now add the flour slowly and continue mixing it on a low speed
• Mix it till the mixture leaves the sides of the bowl and forms a smooth soft dough
• Now divide the mixture in 3 parts, and flatten each part a bit.
• Cover with a plastic wrap and refrigerate it for couple of hours
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven at 350^o F.
• Now, roll out the dough a little more, and cut out the desired cookie shapes. I used the heart shape cutter for the occasion.
• Arrange them on a cookie sheet and bake for 7-9 minutes or till they turn golden brown.
• Remove from oven and then cool on the wire racks.
• Once they are completely cooled, store them in an air-tight container. Enjoy!!

Cabbage Kofta Curry

        What do you do when you have lots of cabbage in the refrigerator and don't want to eat the regular simple curry? I had this situation recently, and I also had some frozen garlic naan. So I decided to use everything and try something new. So here it is, Cabbage Koftas(dumplings) in a rich creamy gravy.
        Malai Kofta is a popular dish in the mughlai cuisine. Typically, the koftas or the dumplings are made from potato and Paneer and served with a rich tomato gravy. But this is a variation, the koftas are made from cabbage. They are delicious and slightly spicier than the traditional ones.
         One more variation is, the traditional gravy has lot of cream for the richness. But the recipe here is vegan, made from cashews and whole spices.

       Hope you all like this variation of the traditional Kofta curry.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups shredded Cabbage
• 1 cup Gram Flour (Besan)
• 2 tbsp Green Chili paste
• 2 tbsp Ginger-Garlic paste
• 1 tsp Garam Masala
• 1 finely chopped Onion
• 2 finely chopped Tomatoes
• 2 Garlic cloves
• 1 Cinnamon Stick
• 2-3 Cloves
• 1/2 cup raw Cashews
• 1 tsp Turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp Chili powder
• 1 tbsp Coriander-Cumin powder
• 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
• 1/2 tsp dry Fenugreek leaves (Kasturi Methi)
• Chopped Cilantro for garnish
• A pinch of Asafoetida
• A pinch of Baking Soda
• Salt to taste
• Oil

Instructions:

For the Koftas:

• Take a big mixing bowl, add the cabbage, baking soda and salt and mix well.
• Add the chili paste, ginger-garlic paste and garam masala and mix well.
• Now, add the gram flour, 1 spoon at a time and mix well to make a dough.
• The dough has to be a little harder than the normal medium consistency. If the dough is too hard, add some water. And if the dough is too soft, add some more flour.
• Now, drop a spoonful of mixture in a heated oil and deep fry till they are golden brown. We can also make discs and shallow fry them with little or no oil.
• Drain on absorbent paper and keep it aside.

• Now heat some oil in a pan. Add asafoetida and cumin seeds along with cloves and cinnamon.
• Once the seeds start to crackle and the spices are fragrant, add the onions and garlic. 
• Saute onions till they are translucent.
• Now add the tomatoes and cashews and mix it well.
• Saute them for 3-4 minutes, till all the raw smell of cashews is gone.
• Take it off the heat and let it cool for some time.
• Now, grind this mixture into a smooth paste. Add some water if needed.
• Then add some oil in the same pan and add the paste.

• Add all the spices (salt, chili powder, turmeric powder and coriander cumin powder) and fenugreek leaves and mix it well.
• Also add a cup or two of water and mix. Simmer the gravy till it thickens and reaches medium consistency.

• Add the koftas only at the time of serving, else they may become soggy.
• Garnish with some cilantro and serve with any kind of Naan, Roti, paratha or rice

Roasted pepper and Onion with Beans Tacos

                   Who doesn't like Mexican food? After coming late from work, I generally prefer to make a quick delicious meal. If you are also in same boat as me, these tacos definitely fit the bill.
                  It is a nice combination of roasted peppers and smoky flavor of fire-roasted tomatoes. You could add many toppings like lettuce, sour cream etc as you like, but I like mine to be minimal so that the actual flavors of the stuffing are not diluted.
              I do hope that you like this quick healthy dinner.
Ingredients:

• 1 cup thinly sliced red Bell Pepper
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced Onions
• 1 tsp Black Pepper powder
• 1/2 cup finely chopped Onions
• 3 minced Garlic cloves
• 2 cups Black beans
• 1/2 cup diced fire-roasted tomatoes
• 2 tsp Cumin seeds
• 2 tsp red Chili powder
• 6-8 Corn Taco Shells
• 1 cup Salsa
• 1 cup diced Avocados
• 1/2 shredded Cheese (Can use vegan cheese also)
• Olive Oil

Instructions:

      For roasted peppers and Onions:

• Preheat the oven at 450°F.
• Add the sliced peppers and onions to a bowl. Add some Olive Oil to the bowl.
• Season with salt and pepper and mix it well.
• Arrange the mixture on a large baking sheet and roast for 10 minutes.
• Stir and roast again for 10-15 minutes or until the peppers are tender and beginning to turn slightly black.
• Remove from oven, transfer to the bowl and keep aside

      For the bean stuffing:

• Heat some oil in a pan. Add the cumin seeds.
• Once the seeds start to crackle, add the garlic and chopped onions and saute till they are translucent.
• Now add the cooked black beans and fire roasted tomatoes. Add about 1 cup water and salt and chili powder and mix it well.
• Let it simmer on low heat for about 15 minutes, until most of the liquid is evaporated.
• Take it off the heat. Now, gently mash the beans until the mixture is thick but still chunky. 
• Transfer to the bowl and keep aside.

     For assembling the tacos

• Heat the taco shells in microwave for couple of minutes
• Take a taco, add some stuffing to it.
• Top it with some roasted peppers and onions.
• Garnish with some avocado, cheese and salsa.
• Serve immediately and Enjoy!

Hope you enjoy this quick meal! 

Roasted Chivda

             Who doesn't like snacks! The only problem associated with loving snacks is the calories that come with it. Most Indian snacks are deep-fried which make them very unhealthy. But here is a healthy twist on a popular Indian snack for you to indulge guilt-free - Roasted Poha Chivda.

              I used a different kind of Poha, which are very similar to puffed rice in looks. They are little thicker and puffier than our regular poha and are much easier to roast. Just a little oil and in 6-8 minutes you will have nice crispy poha.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups Puffed Flattened Rice (Poha) 
• 1/2 cup Cashews
• 1/2 cup Peanuts
• 1/2 cup Daria (Roasted Chana Dal)
• 3-4 Chilies
• 1 tbsp Red Chili powder
• 1 cup thick Sev (Crunchy Chickpea Noodles)
• 8-10 Curry Leaves (optional)
• 2 tsp Dried Mango powder
• 2 tsp Rock Salt 
• 2 tsp Cumin Seeds
• 2 tsp Sesame Seeds
• Salt to taste
• 2 tbsp Oil

Instructions: 

• Heat little oil in a pan. 

• Add the cashews and fry them for couple of minutes. Remove them from oil and place on a paper towel to drain the excess oil.
• Repeat the same process for peanuts and Chana dal.

• In the remaining oil, add the curry leaves and green chilies.
• Then add the cumin seeds and sesame seeds.
• Once the seeds start to crackle, add the poha to the pan.
• Roast it on medium flame for about 6-8 minutes or till the Poha is crisp, stirring continuously
• Take it from the flame, add red chili powder, rock salt, mango powder and salt and mix it well.

• Then add the thick Sev. I used a mix of tomato, mint and plain Sev. Mix the chivda well and let it cool.

• Once it is completely cooled, store in an air tight container.
• Enjoy your guilt-free delicious snack!

Vegetable Paneer Samosa

                  Samosa is one of the most common and popular snacks in India. They are found everywhere, from small road side stalls to 5-star restaurants. Samosa is the savory comfort food at its best, that goes well on all days, be it a rainy day to a chilly winter evening.
                  Samosas are essentially deep-fried triangular flour pastries stuffed with potatoes. The stuffing can be anything, though traditionally spiced mashed potatoes and peas are used.
                I tried a slightly different version of it, since didn't feel having a whole of potatoes. Also, instead of using the commonly used refined flour, I opted for the whole wheat flour.
                  So here is my recipe, to satisfy that craving with lesser amount of guilt.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup Refined flour (Maida)
• 4 tsp Oil
• 1 cup grated Paneer
• 1 cup coarsely crushed Green Peas
• 1/2 cup boiled and mashed potatoes
• 1/4 cup finely chopped Bell Peppers
• 1/4 cup finely chopped Onions
• 1/4 cup finely chopped Cilantro
• 2 Tbsp Ginger-Chilies paste
• 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
• 1 tsp Dry Mango powder (Amchur powder)
• 2 tsp Garam Masala ( A mixture of spices)
• Salt to taste
• Oil for frying

Instructions:

• Sieve both the flours and mix them
• Add 2 tsp Oil, salt and water to make a smooth semi-soft dough. Cover with a damp cloth and keep it aside
• Now, heat 2 tsp oil in a pan. Add Cumin seeds to it.
• Once the seeds starts to crackle, add the ginger-chili paste, onions, bell peppers and saute it for 2-3 minutes.
• Add salt and mix it well.
• Now add the green peas, potatoes, mango powder and garam masala and mix it well.
• Let it cook for another couple of minutes. Make sure to stir it continuously.
• Then add cilantro and mix it well and take it off the heat.
• Now, take the grated paneer in a big bowl. Add the hot mixture and mix it well

• Now, to make Samosa knead the dough properly and divide into smaller portions.
• Roll out each portion into a disc. It should be of medium thickness

• Divide the rolled disc into half. Take each half and shape it into a cone. 

• Take about 1.5 spoon of mixture and stuff the cone. 

• Damp the edges of cone with water and seal it properly.

• Repeat the process with remaining dough
• Now slide each of these samosas in a pre-heated oil and fry it till they are golden brown.
• As a healthier alternative, can also bake them for 25 minutes at 400 F in a preheated oven. Make sure to turn them every 10 minutes.
• Serve with your favorite chutney and/or ketchup