Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Got Tagged?

Since I got tagged by Meeso, thought I would play along. Don't worry, I won't tag anyone. I know you all hate this game ;).

The tag was to list 7 songs you are into right now.

- Katy Perry - I kissed a girl (don't bother with the lyrics, it's just the beat I like ;))

- Muvvala Navvakala from the movie "Pournami"

- Pappu Can't dance sala from the movie "Jaane tu Ya Jaane Na"

- Kabhi Kabhi from the movie "Jaane tu Ya Jaane Na"

- American Boy : Estelle Fetauring Kanye West


And these last two I have no chance but to play them once everyday for my 20 month old. These are the only 2 desi songs he is into right now.

- Mauja hi Mauja from "Jab We Met"
- Mast Kalander from "Hey Baby"

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Chunky Guacamole


I didn't de-seed the Jalapeno because we wanted it spicy. If you like it less spicy , de-seed and remove all the white veins and then mince it.
You can substitute lemon juice for lime juice. Make sure the end product is little lemony. This way if you are not serving the dish right away, avocados won't turn black and will taste good even after 2 hours.

I added white onions as I didn't have red on hand. You can use white but red onions will give a very distinct flavor the guac that white just cannot :).

Ingredients:
Guacamole - 4 semi ripe ones cubed
Red onion - 1/2 cup diced fine (almost close to a mince)
Tomatoes - 1 cubed
Garlic - 1 clove minced
Jalapeno - 1 minced
Lime juice - 4 - 5 6 Tbsp.
Salt - to taste
Fresh ground pepper - Pinch

Procedure:
- Mix all the ingredients except avocados.
- let it sit for 5 mins and then add the avocados. Mix well and serve.

Monday, July 14, 2008

"Kadapa Erra Kaaram" - Onion and red Chilli chutney

This is a chutney used as a spread for dosas in Kadapa. You can also use it as a sandwich spread. It's usually spicy but you can increase/decrease the spice level as suited to your palette.

Ingredients:
Red Onion - 1 Roughly chopped
Dried Red Chillies - 4
Fresh red Chillies - 4
Tomato - 1 small roughly chopped
Garlic - 1 clove
Salt - to taste
Sugar - 1/4 tsp.
lemon Juice - 1 tsp. (freshly squeezed)
Oil - 1 Tbsp.
Butter - 1 tsp.

Procedure:
- Grind all the ingredients except oil and butter into a smooth paste. Do not add any water as you will get enough from the onion, tomato and lemon juice.
- Heat oil and butter in a pan.
- Keep the flame on low and slowly add the ground chutney to the pan.
- Stir and cook on low till the water starts evaporating form the chutney and it starts to turn into a pale red to rich red color
- Turn off and serve.

Monday, July 7, 2008

I need a favor...

I have a cookbook fetish so to speak :). I have all sorts of books from mark Bitmann to Mallika Badrinath. However, I am looking for some South-Indian cook books. I have very few in this category and would like to expand. Do you guys have any suggestions? If you can send me some links as to the titles that would be really great.

I seem to have more vegeterian than non-veg.

"Malati Chandur's cook book (it's written in telugu)
"Samayal"
Bunch of Mallika Badrinath's books.

Thank you :).

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Canneloni Bean Soup with Veggies

Simple recipe. I used canned cannelloni beans. You can substitute for any type of beans and add any kind of vegetable you want. I usually use onions, carrots and celery(also known as Mire-poix) as base for my soups but this time I didn't have celery.

Ingredients:
Onions - finely diced 1/4 cup
Carrots - finely diced 1/2 cup
Zucchini - finely diced 1/2 cup
Green beans - cut into 1/2 inch pieces 1/2 cup
Canneloni beans - 15oz can
Vegetable broth - 1 cup(I prefer Swanson brand or if you make your own, more power to you)
Water - 6 cups
Garlic powder - 1/2 tsp.
Salt - to taste
Freshly ground pepper - to taste
All Purpose Flour - 2Tbsp
Butter - 1 Tbsp
Olive oil - 2 Tbsp.

Procedure:
- Drain and clean the cannelloni beans. Mash 1/4 of the beans with a potato masher.
- Mix the flour and butter and keep aside.
- Heat oil in a stock pot.
- Add onions and saute till they are translucent.
- Add carrots and zucchini and season wit salt.
- Saute the vegetables for 4 to 5 minutes on medium high heat.
- Add pepper and garlic powder and saute for few seconds.
- Add broth and water.
- Cover and bring it to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the flour and butter mixture and the mashed cannelloni beans.
- Mix and add the rest of the canneloni and green beans.
- Check for seasoning and add salt/pepper if need be.
- Simmer till the green beans are cooked.
- Serve hot with some garlic bread.

Salad Fritters



Very weird title I know. See that bean and potato salad post below. I had a little bit of it left over. Prabu was home last week and I wanted to make a new snack. What did I do? I made deep-fried fritters with it. Yummy I tell you :)

Ingredients:

Left over Bean and Potato Salad - 2 cups
Self-Rising Flour - 1/2 to 1 cup
Minced onions - 1/8 cup
Oil for deep frying

Procedure:

- Heat oil in a deep frying pan.
- In a food processor, blend the salad and the flour to make a dough like mixture.
- Mix onions to this and make them into small patties. Deep dry them in the oil till golden brown.

Prabu says this is his favorite way of eating a "salad".

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Green Bean and Potato Salad



I have started to go to farmer's market regularly and am finding myself with some good stuff. The bean and potatoes used in this recipe are from the market.

Ingredients:

Green Beans - 1/2 lb, cleaned ends trimmed and cut into 1 to 2 inch pieces
Potatoes - 3 medium, peeled and cubed

For dressing:
Olive oil - 1/4 cup
Lemon Juice - 1/8 cup
Ground Mustard - 2 Tbsp.
Slat and fresh pepper to taste

Procedure:
- Bring 1 quart of water to boil. Salt the water.
- Add green beans and cook for 2 to 3 minutes till the beans are cooked just enough.
- Remove from water and pat try on kitchen towels.
- Add potatoes to the hot water and cook them . DO not over cook so potatoes get all mushy.
- Mix all the ingredients for dressing and whisk them or just run it through a food processor. Adjust seasoning.
- Mix beans and potatoes in a salad bowl and add the dressing.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Rigatoni with shallots, tomatoes and red bell pepper

I wanted to make a simple pasta dish and decided to whip this up with fresh tomatoes. I am not a big fan of the canned tomatoes or the too much red sauce on my pasta. And no I don't use fresh Parsley ever. It gives a weird flavor and I do not like it. Sue me now ;).

Ingredients:
Rigatoni - 1/2lb
Roma Tomatoes - 3 chopped
Garlic - 3 cloves minced
Shallots - 1 minced
Red Bell Pepper - 1 finely diced
Milk - 1/4 cup
Fresh Parmesan Cheese - 1/4 cup.
Salt and Fresh pepper - to taste
Olive oil - 2 Tbsp.
Butter - 1 tsp.
Dried Parsley - 1/4 tsp.

Procedure:
- Cook the pasta according to package directions with enough salt..
- In a medium pan, heat oil and butter.
- Add shallots and garlic and cook for few seconds making sure garlic is not burning.
- Add the red bell pepper. Season with salt and pepper.
- Once pepper starts to get soft, add tomatoes, cover and cook for 2 minutes till tomatoes start to wilt.
- Add cooked pasta to this and mix.
- Add milk and stir for 30 seconds. Check for seasonings.
- Take the pan off the stove, mix cheese and parsley and serve hot.