Paav Bhaaji

After almost 5 years of hiding, I decided to revive my blog this year. A lot of things happened on the personal front in the last 5 years - marriage, our 3 year old son and now a second child along the way. A lot of role changes and responsibilities came along due to which blogging took the back burner. I'm ready to kick start 2017 with a post. I don't promise to post on a regular basis, but hoping that this post will help me get back to blogging even if it is slow :-).

This recipe for paav bhaji was inspired by a very dear friend of mine, Aarti Patel, while I lived in New Hampshire. I have been following only this recipe ever since I tasted her paav bhaji.

Ingredients (about 4 - 5 servings):

Potato - 1 peeled and cubed (I try to keep this to a minimum and incorporate other less favorite veggies)

Broccoli - 1 small cup

Cauliflower - 1 small cup

Carrots - 2 peeled and chopped into chunks

Green beans - a handful, roughly chopped

Capsicum/green pepper - 1 roughly chopped

Green peas - a handful

Onions - 1 big or 2 small finely chopped

MDH or Baadshah Paav Bhaji masala - 2 tablespoons (you can use any brand of paav bhaji masala if you don't have the ones mentioned)

Salt to taste

Cooking oil - 5 teaspoons

Butter - 2 tablespoons

To grind into a paste:

Tomatoes - 1.5 big or 2 small cut into chunks

Ginger - 1 inch stick cut into pieces

Green chillies - 3 (can vary this based on your taste)

For seasoning:

Coriander/cilantro - a handful, finely chopped

Lemon - 1, cut into small wedges

Onion - 1/4, julienned

Procedure:

1. Pressure cook all the veggies in the ingredients list except the onions. Mash them well and set aside.

2. Grind the tomatoes, ginger and green chillies into a paste and set aside.

3. In a wide pan, add the cooking oil and butter and let the butter melt and mix with the oil.

4. Once the oil is hot, add the finely chopped onions and fry until golden brown.

5. Now add the ground paste from step 2 to step 4 and fry until the raw smell of the tomatoes goes away. This will take about 10 minutes on medium heat.

6. Add salt, paav bhaji masala to step 5, fry for a few seconds and then add the mashed veggies. Adjust salt and paav bhaji masala if needed, mix everything well and let it simmer for about 10 minutes. You can put a lid on during this time.

7. Turn off the stove after 10 minutes and garnish with finely chopped cilantro.

8. Serve the gravy with any kind of toasted bread with a lemon wedge and some julienned onions on the side.

Enjoy your paav bhaji!!! :-)

Thayir (Yogurt) Bread

As soon as I spotted this recipe at Madhuri's blog, my dinner was decided instantly that day. On my way from work, I grabbed a freshly baked loaf of garlic and herbs bread and had a hearty meal. In addition to being very different from the traditional bread combos this was super easy to make. I also realized that this could be a very quick starter recipe when you are in rush to cook for a potluck party or something. I made it the traditional South Indian thayir vadai way without adding any chat seasonings (only because I ran out of them).

Ingredients (3 - 4 servings):

Fresh bread loaf - 1/2 if big or 1 if small (you can use any variety that you prefer)
Plain yogurt - 4 to 5 cups (using a measuring cup) whisked evenly with about a cup (using a measuring cup) of water
Salt to taste

To grind into a paste:

Grated/powdered coconut - about 2 cups (using a measuring cup)
Green chillies - 5 to 6 (vary this to suit your taste)

For seasoning:

Cooking oil - 2 teaspoons
Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
Asafoetida - a couple of pinches

Procedure:

1. Cut the bread loaf into 1 inch squares (you can trim the edges if you want to, but I didn't) and set aside.
2. Heat some oil in a small pan, pop mustard seeds, add asafoetida and transfer the contents to the whisked yogurt and mix well.
3. Mix the ground paste of coconut and green chillies with the whisked yogurt thoroughly along with some salt.
4. Pour 1/3rd of the yogurt mixture on to a flat and wide container and carefully arrange the cut bread squares from step 1.
5. Pour the remaining yogurt mixture on the bread covering every little exposed surface of the bread and garnish with freshly chopped cilantro.

Note:
Like Madhuri's says, you can add all the chat seasonings to it and garnish with grated carrots as well and that will be a nice twist from this preparation :-).

I couldn't wait to have it, so I had to eat it the instant I made it ;-), but you can serve it chilled. I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it & even made this at a friend's place the week after.

Egg Dosa

I came across egg dosa for the first time in Rohini's blog. Since I'm an ardent egg fan, I tried it the same day and just loved it :-). The dosas came out to be very soft.

Ingredients (makes 3 - 4 dosas):

Eggs - 2
Dosa batter - 2 cups (using a measuring cup)
Oil for making dosas
Salt to taste

Procedure:

1. Beat the eggs thoroughly in a bowl, mix in the dosa batter and adjust salt.
2. Make dosas the usual way and enjoy!

I had some left over potato masala and treated myself to awesome egg masala dosas :-).

If you are looking for a slight variation in dosas and if you are an egg lover, I strongly recommend this.

Simple Semiya (Vermicelli) Upma

This is a quick fix breakfast/snack item if you have semiya (vermicelli) at hand. I never get bored of it :-).

Ingredients (1 serving):

Semiya (vermicelli) - 1/2 cup (using a measuring cup)
Cooking oil - 1 full tablespoon
Mustard seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
Channa dhal - 1 teaspoon
Asafoetida - a couple of pinches
Dried red chillies - a couple broken into half
Curry leaves - a few
Water - 1 cup (using a measuring cup)
Salt to taste

Procedure:

1. Dry fry semiya in a pan until it turns light golden brown in color and set aside.
2. In a deep vessel, heat some cooking oil, pop mustard seeds, add the channa dhal, asafoetida, dried red chillies and curry leaves and fry until the channa dhal turns light golden brown in color.
3. To step 2 add 1 cup (using a measuring cup) of water (I use semiya:water in the ratio 1:2 and it comes out perfect every single time), some salt and bring it to a boil.
4. Add the semiya from step 1 to step 3, mix the contents well and keep stirring until the semiya gets cooked in the water.
5. Now, turn off the stove, put the lid on and let it stand for 5 minutes.

Optionally, you can add some chopped onions to step 2 and fry them until golden brown before proceeding with step 3. You can serve the hot upma as is or with sugar, plain yogurt or the favorite chutney of your choice.

Kuzhi Paniyaaram

I had not had kuzhi paniyaaram until I came across this in Mahimaa's blog. I asked my special friend to get the paniyaara kal (the cast iron pan used to make sweet and savory paniyaarams) from India and tried this really easy and yummy snack :-).

Ingredients (about 2 - 3 servings):

Dosa batter - about 3 cups (using a measuring cup)
Onions - about 1/4 cup (using a measuring cup) finely chopped
Ginger - 1 teaspoon finely chopped
Green chillies - 2 finely chopped
Oil - a drop for each hole in the paniyaara kal
Salt to taste

Procedure:

1. Mix the chopped onions, ginger, green chillies and salt to taste with the dosa batter.
2. Heat the paniyaara kal and add a drop of oil into each hole once it gets hot.
3. Spoon the batter from step 1 into the holes and cook both sides by flipping until golden brown in color.

This can be had as is or with any chutney/pickle of your choice. I had some puli inji in my refrigerator and it tasted good with it :-).

Dosas & Idlis

I started making idlis and dosas from scratch only after I came to the US. Until then, I had only used the already made batter. Anyhow, a roommate who became a very good friend of mine, first taught me how to make dosa batter using just the regular rice instead of raw rice. She also taught me a little trick for the batter to ferment well as winter lasts for almost 4 - 5 months in the part of the US that I live. I'm going to jot that down here so that others could benefit from it.

Dosa

Ingredients:

Split white urad dhal - 1 cup (using a measuring cup)
Uncooked rice - 2.5 cups (using a measuring cup)
Cooked rice - 1/2 cup (using a measuring cup)
(Using cooked rice is the trick to quick fermentation)
Salt to taste

Procedure:

1. Soak the urad dhal and uncooked rice separately for about 5 - 6 hours.
2. Wet grind the urad dhal and rice (the soaked uncooked rice and the cooked rice) separately such that the batter falls easily but is not runny, mix them both in a container and let it sit outside for about 12 hours (this is variable) for it to ferment and rise.
3. Once the batter is well-fermented, add salt and refrigerate.

You can keep it for nearly 1 - 2 weeks and enjoy a whole variety of dosas with a wide range of chutneys and other side dishes.

Idli

Ingredients:

Split white urad dhal - 1 cup (using a measuring cup)
Coarse idli rava - 2 cups (using a measuring cup)
Salt to taste

Procedure:

1. Soak the urad dhal and idli rava separately for about 4 - 5 hours.
2. Wet grind the urad dhal, drain all the water from the soaked rava and mix the ground urad dhal with the rava.
3. Set it aside for about 12 hours (this is variable) for the batter to ferment and rise.

4. Add salt after the batter has fermented and refrigerate.

Even this batter keeps for about 1 - 2 weeks and you can enjoy different varieties of idlis :-)

Note:
1. My Mom says adding salt after fermentation has taken place helps keeps the batter from turning more sour.
2. Sometimes if it gets way too cold here, I heat the oven (conventional) for a couple of minutes, turn it off, wait for a few more minutes and place the batter inside the oven with a plate underneath so that the warmth enhances the fermentation process. You can also consider wrapping the batter container in a piece of woolen cloth.

Payatham Paruppu Sundal

Payatham paruppu or moong dhal is very good for health and my Mom would make the sundal or paayasam with payatham paruppu once a week, for sure. This sundal is also there on one of the days during the 9 days of Navarathri celebrations at our house :-).

Ingredients (about 3 - 4 servings):

Uncooked split moong dhal - 1 cup (using a measuring cup)
Cooking oil - 2 teaspoons
Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
Urad dhal - 1 teaspoon
Asafoetida - a couple of pinches
Dried red chillies - a couple split into half (vary this to suit your taste)
Grated/powdered coconut - 2 to 3 teaspoons (vary this to suit your taste)
Curry leaves - a few
Salt to taste

Procedure:

1. Boil moong dhal in water along with a little salt (the dhal doesn't get cooked fast if you add more salt) until it gets cooked (but NOT mashed), drain the water and set aside. You can even microwave the moong dhal along with water if you find that approach easier.
2. In a pan, heat some cooking oil, pop mustard seeds, add urad dhal, asafoetida, dried red chillies and curry leaves and fry until the urad dhal turns light golden brown in color.
3. Add the cooked moong dhal from step 1 and some more salt to step 2, mix in well and fry for about 5 - 7 more minutes on medium heat with constant stirring.
4. Turn off the stove, add the grated/powdered coconut to step 3 while the contents are still hot and mix well.

Your sundal is ready to snack on!!!!

Puli Pongal

Puli pongal is my Grandma's trademark dish. It is simply yummy each time she makes it. I got the recipe from her and tried it. It came out well and I'm happy to have tried it :-).

Ingredients (about 2 servings):

Uncooked rice - 1.5 cups (using a measuring cup)

Tamarind soaked in warm water (for about 15 to 20 minutes) - about the size of a small lemon

(If using paste, about 3/4 teaspoons of it)
Dried red chillies - about 6 t0 7, broken into two

Cooking oil (or sesame oil) - 2 tablespoons

Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon

Channa dhal - 1 tablespoon

Turmeric powder - a pinch or two

Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon

Curry leaves - a few

Salt to taste

Prep work:

1. Soak the uncooked rice in water for about 30 minutes.

2. After 30 minutes, drain all the water from the rice, spread it on a thin cloth or tissue until all the water gets absorbed and the rice is completely dry. This roughly takes about 20 minutes.

3. Make a COARSE powder out of the dry rice from step 2 and set it aside.

Procedure:

1. Extract about 3 cups (using a measuring cup) of tamarind juice from the soaked tamarind or dilute the paste to yield about 3 cups (using a measuring cup) of tamarind water.

2. In a deep vessel, heat some cooking oil, pop mustard seeds, add the channa dhal, asafoetida and broken red chillies and fry until the channa dhal turns light golden brown in color.

3. To step 2, pour the tamarind water from step 1, add the curry leaves and turmeric powder and bring it to a boil. Boil for about 7 - 10 minutes on medium heat or until the raw smell of tamarind goes away.

4. To the contents of step 3, add the coarse rice and keep stirring to avoid any lumps. Half way through, add some salt and mix everything well. Wait until the rice gets cooked, turn off the stove and put the lid on for about 5 - 10 minutes.

5. Just before serving, drizzle sesame oil on the top and serve with fried papad.

Although this is the not the healthiest of the dishes, it does taste good and in my opinion, there is no harm in treating yourself to such items occasionally :-). Wouldn't you agree with me????

Fresh Corn With A Spicy Rub

When I went to the grocery store last week, I noticed this terribly fresh looking corn that was so inviting and hence bought a couple of those even though I didn't have the slightest clue as to what I was going to do with them :-). Back home, I used to love fresh corn when it is cooked over the flame and has that slight charred flavor to it. After coming to the US, I tried to do the same over an electric burner only to find out that I cannot get the same effect as the flame. Moreover, I had never made any dish with just corn alone although I use frozen corn along with other veggies in many dishes. Anyway, after I bought them, they were sitting in my refrigerator for about a week and finally I decided to try something really quick with them and it turned out great. I even had a couple of friends who came over for lunch last weekend and served this as an appetizer :-).

Ingredients:

Fresh corn - 2
Lemon juice - 1 tablespoon
Red chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon (vary this to suit your taste)
Salt - 1/2 teaspoon

Procedure:

1. Microwave corn in a container with little water for about 10 - 15 minutes (the time might vary based on the power level of the microwave). You can even do this over the stove. Set it aside for it to cool down a bit.
2. In a small cup, mix lemon juice, red chilli powder and salt thoroughly and rub the cooked corn from step 1 with the mixture and serve :-).

How simple is that????? It makes for a really quick and healthy snack.

Varuththa Upma

Varuththa upma is one great tasting snack that I love. It is very easy to make, but requires considerable amount of oil because of which I don't make it quite often :-).

Ingredients (1 - 2 servings):

Rice flour - about 3 cups
Tamarind soaked in water - about the size of a small lemon
(If using paste, about 3/4 teapsoon of it)
Cooking oil - 2 tablespoons
Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
Channa dhal - 1 tablespoon
Asafoetida - 1/2 teaspoon
Dried red chillies - 3 to 4 broken into small pieces
Curry leaves - a few
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Salt to taste

Procedure:

1. Extract the essence from the soaked tamarind to yield about a 3/4 cup (using a measuring cup) of tamarind juice. If using paste, dilute it with 3/4 cup of water and set aside.
2. In a bowl, mix rice flour with the tamarind extract from step 1, asafoetida and salt such that it is not watery but pours down from a spoon. Set the mixture aside.
3. In a pan, heat some cooking oil, pop mustard seeds, add the channa dhal, curry leaves, turmeric powder and dried red chillies and fry until the channa dhal turns light golden brown in color.
4. To step 3, add the rice flour mixture from step 2 and keep stirring it. The water slowly evaporates and the contents slowly solidfy. From this point forward, it is going to be a test for your arm and shoulder muscles ;-). Yes, you have to continuously stir it on medium heat until the mixture completely solidifies and begins to break into small pieces and gets fried well in the oil. It takes about 20 minutes to get there after which you will be done.
5. Serve as is or with puli inji.

This snack would definitely be on the menu whenever Grandma visited us :-).

Thayir Oats

Oats is full of fiber that helps remove the bad cholesterol. Also, recent studies have shown that it has a specific type of antioxidants that reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases. On top of all this, any dish which has oats as its primary ingredient is normally easy to prepare. If you have "moar milagai" (sun dried green chillies that are soaked in buttermilk prior to drying them), it tastes out of the world with this dish, but again, it is not a requirement. Since I don't quite like oats with milk and sugar, I use thayir/dahi/plain yogurt instead.

Ingredients (1 serving):

Oats (not oatmeal) - a handful
Plain yogurt (also called thayir in Tamil) - 3 to 4 tablespoons
More milagai - 3 to 4 (can vary this based on your taste)
(You can use dried red chillies or green chillies as well)
Cooking oil - 1 teaspoon
Mustard seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
Asafoetida - a pinch
Cilantro (optional) - a few strands finely chopped
(I use cilantro only if I don't have moar milagai)
Salt to taste

Procedure:

1. Microwave oats with water (just enough to cover the oats) in a bowl for about 1.5 minutes (could be a little more or less based on the power level of your microwave).
2. In a small pan, heat some cooking oil, pop mustard seeds, add dried red chillies or green chillies and asafoetida after the mustard pops and transfer the contents to the oats bowl from step 1. If using "moar milagai", after the mustard pops you can simply add the asafoetida, transfer the contents to the oats bowl and fry the "more milagai" in the same pan until it turns dark brown in color. Now, crush the "moar milagai" by hand and add it to the oats bowl.
3. Add plain yogurt and salt to the oats bowl, mix the contents well and serve :-).

Note:
The same item can be prepared with aval/poha. If using aval, just soak 1/2 cup (using a measuring cup) of aval in hot water (enough to cover it) for about 5 - 7 minutes and follow steps 2 and 3 from the above procedure.

This serves as a quick, healthy and tasty breakfast for me on most of the working days :-). It may look a little mushy, but trust me, it tastes great!

Eggless Savory Toast

The moment I saw this recipe on Mahimaa's blog, I immediately wanted to try it and I did try it the same day :-). I started making it for an evening snack, but ended up having it as my dinner instead. It was that yummy, and the combination with the ketchup was just amazing. Thanks Mahi!!!

Ingredients:

Bread slices - 6
Sooji/rava (semolina) - 1/2 cup (using a measuring cup)
Plain yogurt - 1/2 cup (using a measuring cup)
Onions - about 1/2 cup (using a measuring cup) finely chopped
Tomatoes - about 1/2 cup (using a measuring cup) finely chopped
Green chillies - 1 or 2 finely chopped (vary this to suit your taste)
Turmeric - a pinch
Cilantro - 2 teaspoons finely chopped
Red chilli powder - a couple of pinches (for that extra kick ;-))
Salt to taste

Procedure:

1. Mix all the above ingredients (except bread) in a bowl and set aside.
2. Coat the bread slices on each side with the mixture from step 1 and shallow fry on a pan with a couple of drops of oil on both sides. Like Mahi had mentioned in her blog, you might want to use your hand to get the mixture on both sides of the bread slice.
3. Serve with ketchup. As simple as that!!!!

I strongly recommend all my friends to try this out as it is very very easy to make and also tastes great. I'm often having it for breakfast and snack these days. It tastes like some kind of cutlet when had with ketchup :-) and it feels good to be able to eat something different with bread.

Idli Upma

During my primary school days, a colleague of my Dad used to pick me and his son from school on days when my Dad had to take evening classes at his college. I used to wait at that Uncle's place until my Mom came back from work and took me home. Almost always on such days, she would make idli upma or semiya (vermicelli) upma, as those were my favorites. This dish brings back fond memories of those days :-).

When you have some left over (or fresh) idlis and if you are bored of having them with chutney or sambar, you can turn them into this amazing upma. It is quick, easy and tasty.

Ingredients (1 serving):

Idlis (so called Indian rice cakes) - 4 to 5 just broken into small pieces by hand
Onions - 2 medium sized ones chopped finely
Cooking oil - 1 tablespoon
Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
Urad dhal - 1/2 teaspoon
Channa dhal - 2 teaspoons
Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
Dried red chillies - about 3 of them (vary this to suit your spice level)
Curry leaves (optional) - a few
Salt to taste

Procedure:

1. In a pan, heat some cooking oil, add mustard seeds and wait for them to splutter. After the mustard splutters, add the urad dhal, channa dhal, asafoetida, red chillies and curry leaves and fry until the dhals turn light golden brown in color.
2. To the seasoning in step 1, add the finely chopped onions and fry until they turn golden brown in color.
3. To step 3, add the broken idlis, some salt, mix everything well, fry for 5 minutes and turn off the stove.

Note:
1. If you sprinkle a little water while breaking the idlis, it will be a lot easier and it won't stick to your hand much.
2. Beware while adding salt as the idlis already have some salt in them.

This makes for a quick and tasty breakfast/snack. Enjoy!!!!

Aval Usili

Aval, called poha in Hindi and flattened rice in English, is very easy to cook and aval usili is even more easier to make. If you like aval and if you have it at home, then you can make this dish in 5 minutes. No great masalas are used here, but the flavor is great (and so is the taste :-)).

Ingredients (2 servings):

Aval (thick) - 2 cups (using a measuring cup)
Black pepper powder - 1.5 teaspoons
Cumin powder - 1.5 teaspoons
Cooking oil - 1 tablespoon
Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
Urad dhal - 1 teaspoon
Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
Dried red chilli - 1 cut into half
Curry leaves - a few
Salt to taste

Procedure:

1. In a bowl, wash and soak the aval with just enough HOT water to cover it and set it aside for about 5 - 7 minutes, after which the aval would have become soft (but not mashed... if you add more water while soaking, it gets mashed).
2. Take a small pan, heat some cooking oil, add mustard seeds and wait for them to splutter. After the mustard splutters, add asafoetida, urad dhal, dried red chilli and curry leaves and fry until the urad dhal turns light golden brown in color.
3. To the contents of the pan, add the softened aval, black pepper powder, cumin powder and salt, mix everything well and turn off the stove after 2 minutes. Aval usili is ready in 5 minutes.

Note:
1. If you have whole black pepper and cumin seeds, you can make a freshly ground powder out of it and use that in the usili. Anything fresh is always better, ain't it????
2. I use thick aval as opposed to thin aval as the latter gets mashed very easily.

This makes for a really quick snack (like I said before, only if you have aval at hand ;-)). Often, I make this for breakfast because, by the time I get up, soak the aval and get ready to go to work, it would have become soft and I can make the usili in 5 minutes and have a tasty, hot breakfast :-). I like it with plain yogurt, but it is good as is.