Lemon Coriander Soup

I am sure you all must have tasted this delicious soup in some Indo-Chinese restaurants. It is a very simple soup to make it will get ready in about 20 minutes. Add some quinoa/barley into the soup it will become a one pot meal. I tasted this for the first time when our friends Venu and Usha took us to a restaurant near their house. So, without further adieu, i give you the recipe for this light yet satisfying soup.

Perp time: 15 Minutes

Cook time: upto 20 minutes

Serving: upto 3

Ingredients:

1. Lemon Juice - 1/4 cup
2. Coriander - a handful, not too much though.
3. Green chili - 2 to 3 (more if you like it  very hot)
4. Vinegar - upto 3 tsp
5. Garlic - 4 pods grated/minced or upto 3 tsp paste
6. Water - upto 6 cups
7. Tofu - 1 cup diced (optional)
8. Mushroom - 1/2 cup finely chopped
9. Spring onions - 1 bunch, finely chopped
10. quinoa/barley - 1/4 cup (optional) [if you choose to use barley, soak it for 4 hours prior to use]
11. Corn Starch - 2 tsp (use only if not using quinoa or barley)
12. Salt - to taste
13. Oil - 2 tsp

Method:

• Heat oil in a pot which can hold all the ingredients.
• Saute garlic and spring onions for a minute.
• Add Mushroom and saute for a minute.
• Add water and 2 tsp vinegar and add quinoa or barley if you are using them and let it boil. 
• In the mean while, take the coriander, green chili, 1 tsp vinegar and two pinches of salt and make a paste of it.
• Add tofu and the paste to the soup and stir to mix well.
• Now add the paste, salt and boil for 5 minutes.
• If you are not using quinoa or barley, mix the corn starch in cold water and mix it in the soup while adding water in the beginning. 
• Add half of the lemon juice, stir and give it a taste, if it is not sour enough, add more till you get your desired taste. Add salt mix and enjoy this soup hot.

Tip:

If you do not eat green chili, you can eliminate it and use pepper powder instead. just add some cracked pepper in to the soup after it cooks and stir well.

Gulpapte - a fast dessert

One of the Karnataka sweets, so easy to make and tasty to eat. It is made with two kinds of flour, ragi or whole wheat. Since whole wheat is more accessible I am posting it's recipe. Same proportions apply to ragi flour as well. Making Gulpapte with ragi flour make it a gluten free dessert. This brings back memories of my childhood at my granny's place. She used to make it and ask all of her grand kids to eat.. I never ate coz I did not like sweets as a kid. Gran used get angry on me for not tasting... :D... Me is what me is, never listened to her. Now when I have to make it to eat, I realize the value of what she used to do. Miss you gran :(... I made Gulpapte last year for the first time and never in my life I imagined liking gulpapte so much that I would repeatedly make them. My mom's favorite and dear husband loves it too so it is a double bonus... It does not have the gran's touch however has her recipe...very simple to make and will get ready in 30 minutes max!!

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Pieces: About 8

Ingredients:

1. Wheat flour - 1 cup
2. Jaggery - 3/4 cup, grated
3. clarified butter/ghee - 2 tbsp[can be substituted with 1 tbsp of unsalted butter or very mild flavoured oil]
4. Water - enough to cover jaggery about 1/2 to 3/4 cup
5. Grated coconut - 1/2 cup [optional]
6. Cardamom - 2 crushed or 2 pinches of powder

Method:

• In a small pot take jaggery and water and heat till all of the jaggery dissolves.
• In another pan, heat clarified butter, add cardamom and flour. Roast till all rawness goes away. You will know when your kitchen starts smelling very fragrant.
• Now add coconut and roast for a couple of minutes.
• Add the water jaggery mixture little by little and keep mixing so that it does not form lumps. Keep doing this till all the jaggery gets well incorporated into the flour.
• Cook till the mixture leaves the pan and forms a ball when you are stirring.
• Turn the stove of, set the pan aside and let it cool to touch.
• Oil your palms lightly and roll them into lime sized balls to enjoy!

Tips:

• If you want to make it richer, add finely chopped nuts and/or raisins.
• If you want to store them for longer time, do not add coconut since it will start spoiling faster.

Quick Chawal ka Kheer [Sweetened rice]

Traditionally this recipe takes quite sometime to cook. Since I am not known for my patience, I always try to find out ways to reduce cook and prep time. This sweet cooks faster if you already have cooked rice on hand. Wonderful sweet for festivals, guests or any special occasion. A good thing about this sweet is you can flavour it with almost any fruit or nut essences. If at all you flavour, I recommend you use finely chopped nuts and pureed fruit... yummm!

Prep time: 15 mins (includes rice cooking)

Cook time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

1. Rice - 1/4 cup cooked
2. Dry fruits and Nuts - such as raisins, almonds, cashew, pistachio finely chopped, 2 tbsp [all or any.. whatever you have on hand]
3. Condensed milk - 14 oz can
4. Saffron : a pinch soaked in a tbsp of milk for 30 mins (optional)
5. Cardamom: 2 pods crushed
6. Clarified Butter - 2 tsp 
7. Milk - about 1/4 cup (only if needed)

Method:

• Heat a pot big enough to hold all the ingredients on medium flame.
• Add clarified butter and give it a few seconds to heat up.
• Add cardamom and all the dry fruits and nut you want. Saute for a few seconds.
• Add cooked rice and mix in withe rest of the ingredients.
• Add condensed milk and saffron and let it cook for 7 to 8 minutes.
• If you think the sweet is getting very thick you may add milk to thin it.
• Please refer to tips if you wish to use fruit in the sweet.

Serving Suggestion:

Serve it chilled in the refrigerator, It tastes almost like an ice cream if you have used any fruit essence or fresh fruit. You can also garnish it with freshly chopped fruit like mango, banana and etc.

Tips:

1. You may you fruits like mango, pineapple, banana and strawberry.. go ahead and experiment with the fruits you want to try. However, remember that highly citric fruits may curdle the milk in the dish.

2. If you decide to use fruit in the sweet. Take 1/4 cup of the fruit's pulp and add it while you are adding condensed milk and let it cook. If you also want to add essence, make sure you use 1/2 tsp of the same fruit's essence or use vanilla essence, it enhances almost any flavour.

Injera

Injera is an Ethiopian bread. It is some what like an Indian dosa as it is fermented and made just like dosa. There are a variety of Curries and vegetables which are served on a injera. This cuisine has quite a few vegetarian options. The first time I had this in a restaurant (Meskarem) at NYC, I realized how tasty and heavenly food can get. Ethiopians do eat spicy food, so many Indians develop particular liking for this cuisine. 

Injera is made out of world's smallest grain called "Teff". It is of the Ragi family so the colour of injera looks just like ragi dosa. However, Teff has a very mild flavour unlike Ragi which has a strong taste on it's own. Traditionally in Ethiopia, injera is spread on a platter and the Wat(curry) and Vegetables or served on it. They don't stop serving extra injeras and sides unless one starts eating the injera on which the sides were served. There are recipes for instant injera as well, I do not like using yeast and too much cooking soda in my cooking (not very good for you), so this is the traditional method.

I made Yeshinbra shiro wat and timatim salata to go with Injera. I am sure you will love this cuisine... try it and let me know how you liked it.

Prep time: 10 Minutes (does not include fermenting)

Cook time: 15 minutes

Pieces: up to 6 depending on the size of skillet used.

 

Ingredients:

1. Whole grain Teff flour - 2 cups (you can find it in Whole foods store or any organic foods stores)

2. Salt - To taste

3. Water - up to 3 Cups or slightly more

4. Oil - 2 tbsp

Method:

1. Mix teff flour, water and salt and let it ferment till it forms tiny bubbles on the surface. Be patient, sometimes it takes 3 days for it to ferment. I got lucky as it fermented in 9 hours. When you mix teff flour and water, keep in mind that it must have the consistency slightly watery than pancake batter or dosa batter.

2. After it has fermented. heat a thick bottomed iron skillet or tava and pour the batter and move the tava or skillet around to spread the batter. Do not spread it around like dosa batter. pour some oil around the injera and let it cook well. You will know it is well done when the batter turns a deep brown and forms a lot of holes all over. Flip it over for a few seconds and it is ready to serve.

Tip:

1. Do not use a nonstick skillet, it somehow does not make good injera.

2. If the injera is breaking into pieces, do not panic, sprinkle a little rice flour or all purpose flour on the batter and mix it well, try making it again. 

I have tried making injera with ragi flour, must confess that it is not a very good option. You may as well choose to make normal pancakes and dosas and eat those spicy curries with them

Steamed spicy lentil balls, (Nuchhina Unde/ Pidiche)

The snack I bet is most nourishing and healthy. High on protein and low in fat, one tasty mix of lentils which can make a good snack or a side. Good for growing kids, who need a lot of protein. We make it on a festival "Vinayaka Chowti", the birthday of lord Ganesha as this is his favorite snack. Give it a taste and you will realize why? Try it and find out for yourself. Every household has a different way of making them. we like them this way.. Enjoy.

Perp Time : 30 Mins

Cook time : 30 Mins

Pieces: upto 25

Ingredients:

1. Split Yellow lentils (Toor dal) - 1 cup

2. Spilt Moong (Moong dal) - 1/2 cup

3. Split chickpeas (Chana dal) - 1/2 cup 

4. Coconut scrapings fresh or frozen - 1/2 cup

5. Green chillies/dry chillies - 7 to 8 (more or less according to your taste)

6. Ginger root - 1 to 1 1/2" piece roughly chopped.

7. Cilantro/coriander leaves - a handful

8. Dill weed - a handful (optional)

9. Salt - to taste

For tempering:

1. Oil - 1 tbsp

2. Curry leaves - 1 string, finely chopped

3. Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

4. Asfoetida - 3 pinches

5. Turmeric - 2 pinches

Method:

1. Soak all the three dals/lentlis overnight or 5 hours minimum.

2. Make a coarse batter of all the ingredients excluding salt. The batter must be made without water or adding very little water, it has to hold the solid shape of the fist. Add salt just before you are ready to make the ball and mix well.

3. take some batter into your fist and press gently till it holds a oval shape. like wise make all the batter into such balls and steam them in a pressure cooker without the whistle on or in any other steamer for 20 mins or till well done. Let it cool in the cooker/steamer for about 10 minutes before you take it out. Cool further till you can handle them. 

3. Heat oil in a big wok and make the tempering by adding mustard seeds first after the splutter, add asfoetida, turmeric and curry leaves and turn the stove off. Break the balls you steamed into the wok. Make sure you have not left any big chunks.

4. Turn the stove back on and mix the tempering and the steamed mixture well. Do not over heat as it will make the balls dry and they wont hold the shape.

5. Once the mixture is cool enough to handle, make the ball again like the previous time and eat them up.

Serving Suggestions:

It tastes good as it is, however, can be served with coconut/Sweet tamarind chutney or both. Or it can be served with a broth called "majjige huli", for which I have uploaded a recipe. Just click on the name to navigate.

Tips:

1. If you have a idly stand, just press the mixture into the idly trays and steam them in the shape of idlys. 

2. If you want, you can mix the tempering to the raw mixture and steam them, you will not have to recook anything again. This save some time.

3. If you want you can resteam the balls after you mix the already steamed balls to the tempering. This is very time consuming though... you may give it a try.

4. You may use onions, if you do, please do not use coconut. Finely chop onions and saute it in the tempering and continue with same method. 

5. You may just use chana dal (split chickpeas) or Split yellow lentils (Toor dal)... I use all three to include different kinds of protein and this particular mixture gives a wonderful taste. 

6. You can grind curry leaves with batter, this will make sure the flavour is mixed evenly through the mixture. If you add it in tempering, it might not be the case.

7. If you have food processor attachment which cops veggies, this will give the perfect consistency for the batter... a blender attachment may make a very smooth paste as opposed to the needed coarse batter.

Adai Dose (Lentils pan cake)

This is one of the healthiest dose/pan cake you can ever eat. Rich in protein and low fat, which makes it a good breakfast or a snack for the kids. Kids generally love to eat dose varieties, this will certainly give them more nourishment than the rest of them. This is also a gluten free pan cake. There are many different recipes to make these doses, i like to make 'em this way.

Ingredients: 

1. Split yellow lentil (Toor dal) - 1 cup

2.Split Green gram (Moong dal) - 1/2 cup

3. Split Chick Peas (Channa dal) - 1/2 cup

4. Raw rice - 1 cup

5. Ginger - 1 inch piece or 1 tbsp paste

6. Whole black pepper - about 1 tsp

7. Dry red chilli - 4 to 5, (if you don't have it on hand, please use cayenne/chilli powder about 1 to 2 tsp, depending on how hot you would want it)

8. Asafoetida - a pinch or two.

9.Salt to taste

10. Finely chopped onions for garnish.

Method:

1. Soak rice, toor, moong, channa dal, balck pepper, dry red chilli for 6 to 8 hours. Do not use the chilli/cayenne powders to soak.

2. Grind the soaked dals and rice with ginger piece smoothly to pan cake batter consistancy.

3. Add salt, asafoetida and chilli/cayenne powder if not using dry chilli to the batter mix well and the dough is ready to be made into pan cakes.

4. To make the pan cakes, heat a pan, preferably non-stick so you can use less oil. pour the batter and spread it around the pan in circular motion starting from center. Pour a few drops of oil around the pan cake and wait till the lower side gets cooked. Flip the pan cake and cook for a few seconds. If you are using chopped onions, drizzle them on the batter as soon as you spread the batter on the pan. 

You can serve it with any kind of chutney/ketchup or pudi.